


Eyes on me

by FuckYeahChilton



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Awkward Romance, Crime Scenes, Cuddling & Snuggling, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Kissing in the Rain, M/M, Nygmobblepot, more kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-18 18:16:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 27
Words: 47,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3579192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuckYeahChilton/pseuds/FuckYeahChilton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edward Nygma doesn´t want to be treated like garbage anymore so he makes a decision that might change everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A good guy

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everybody~  
> I don´t know where this story is going yet, probably just a few short chapters. I just needed to write some Nygmobblepot so.. I hope it is not too much out of character and I excuse myself for language mistakes in advance because english is not my first language.. I hope you enjoy it anyway =)

 

 

*** 1 *** 

 

„Reconsider my invitation,“ Cobblepot said and took Gordon’s hand to place the black envelope in his palm.  
“It wouldn´t be the same without you.”

Gordon watched the small weirdo waddling away and wasn't thinking twice before the invitation flew into the closest garbage can.  
Concentrating on his work again, he didn´t even notice that someone else was sneaking around the whole time, eventually picking up the envelope.  
Nobody paid attention to the slender figure, awkwardly turning his head from side to side, before he hurried into a random direction.

His head still turned to the side, eyes fixed on the man people called “Penguin”, he didn´t see the woman who just left her office, busy with studying files, and bumped right into her.  
She threw the paper into the air like a fountain and screamed out of surprise.  
The moment the young man realized what just happened, he wasn´t able to do anything but staring at the paper, moving in the air like falling leafs.

“NYGMA, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU? CAN´T AT LEAST ONE DAY PASS WITHOUT YOU RUINING IT?, the woman screamed and Nygma winced.  
“I am so sorry Miss Kringle, I didn´t mean to..”, he babbled while kneeling down to pick up the paper that had already reached the floor.  
“Don´t. Just leave me alone, you are making it just worse.”, Kristen Kringle said in the most self-controlled way she could manage.  
The man stood up, his expression slowly freezing.  
“Alright.” He said and turned around to escape from the situation.

When Edward Nygma reached his office, door closed behind him, he leaned against it and took a deep breath.  
He noticed that he was still holding the envelope in his clenched hand, now slightly crumpled.  
Ed tried smoothing the black, expensive paper carefully and stared on the name, printed on it in white letters.  
“Oswald’s”  
His first conversation with Oswald Cobblepot didn´t go well, he thought, biting his lower lip.”  
He wasn´t even sure why he felt the urge to talk to the little man everyone was talking about all the time.  
Edward remembered the day when he met Oswald Cobblepot for the first time.  
Well, he didn´t actually meet him but he was in the same room.  
The day Jim Gordon got almost arrested for the murder of Cobblepot, he showed off in the GCPD building, introducing himself to the “audience” while he seemed to have a lot of fun doing it.  
The small man knew how to make people pay attention. 

Edward Nygma usually felt like a ghost in the GCPD building, until people got annoyed, sending him away.  
Moments when his work got appreciated were rare and people barely noticed how helpful he actually was.  
Today, he got noticed.  
In this room full of people, Penguin noticed him and somehow Ed felt drawn to him and this feeling wasn´t fading.

It was the same day in the evening, when Edward Nygma arrived at the Club where Oswald’s opening party had started about an hour ago.  
He was still a little angry about the comment someone at work made about the unusual suit he was wearing, when he left the building.  
“If he was going to a funeral”, because he was dressed “all black”..  
His suit wasn´t black at all, the fabric had a beautiful shade of dark green, with dark purple pine stripes.  
Ed had never worn this suit before, because there was no reason for it, yet.  
He kept it in his office, waiting for the right moment to use it.  
Actually, he was saving it for a special night, maybe dinner with a specific, beautiful woman.. whatever.  
Somehow he felt like wearing it tonight, combined with a black, silky button-up shirt and a purple bowtie, making him feel more confident than usual, but compared to his rising heartbeat, obviously not confident enough.  
He took a deep breath and walked straight to the entrance, where two guys, tall and strong looking, watched him with frozen expressions.

Edward was holding the invitation with both hands and stopped in front of the security guys, forcing a smile.  
“I.. have an invitation.”, he said, waving with the envelope in front of the guys faces.  
One of them grabbed it and opened it to read the name.  
“You don´t look like James Gordon, kid.”, he said, but Ed stayed calm.  
“Because I am not. Detective Gordon is tied up with business and he asked me to take his place instead to deliver a personal apology to the host.”  
Edward pressed his lips together, waiting for a reaction.  
Just by looking at them, he could tell that those guys weren´t very smart. Nothing but muscles, just following orders.  
“Mister Cobblepot would be very disappointed not to know how sorry Detective Gordon is, that he couldn´t make it.”, Ed started another try and the security guys exchanged glances until one of them nodded and both stepped aside to let Nygma pass.  
“Thank you.”, he said, still smiling, and walked inside.

Oswald’s mood couldn´t get worse.  
His grand opening was a disaster.  
He filled glasses on empty tables, while a terrible band repeated the line “no more heroes anymore” over and over again.  
This should have been his great moment, but only a hand full of people from his guest list appeared and half of them have left the “party” already.  
He still hoped for more guests because the night was still young but he wasn´t too optimistic.  
When he glanced to the entrance, he froze for a moment.  
Penguin immediately recognized the skinny man who worked at the GCPD.  
It has been only a few hours ago, when he felt stalked by that nerdy guy and their short, senseless conversation was still in his mind.  
A lot of effort for wanting nothing, Cobblepot thought, while he watched the other man from the corner of his eye, who was still standing there, looking around curiously.  
He straightened himself and hobbled to the entrance.  
Nygma seemed busy with studying the interior so he didn´t notice that the new owner of the club was already standing next to him.  
“What is green and very much in the wrong place?”, Oswald asked in a joking way, but with a forced smile.  
Ed turned his head with a surprised expression and looked down to the Penguin, the smile on his face open and happy.  
“Me.”, he said with excitement, “The answer is me!”  
Edward didn´t care much about the fact that Cobblepot didn´t welcome him at his party, he just saw that he remembered him and he remembered that he liked riddles and he noticed that his suit was green.  
Oswald blinked twice, a little confused, but still smiling.  
“What.. do you want?”, he asked directly, looking right into Nygma’s eyes.  
“We need it to survive, but we can´t survive in it.”, Edward said, enjoying the puzzled look on Penguin’s face.  
He looked like he wanted to reply something but no words came out of his mouth.  
“Water. I’d like a glass of water.. please?”, Ed smiled and Oswald tried to keep his patience.

“Did Jim send you here?”, Penguin kept asking, while his hope that the only person he considered a true friend would just be a little late was slightly fading.

Ed considered lying to Oswald to not ruin the party for him, but on the other hand…  
“No. I came here by myself.”  
“How did you get in?”  
“With Detective Gordon’s invitation. I pulled it out of the garbage can..to be honest.”  
Cobblepot let out an angry snort and nodded.

“Alright..friend.. have a seat, get a drink and enjoy the party.”, he said dryly, turned around and waddled away.  
Oswald felt anger rising in his chest.  
He was disappointed and just felt like throwing everyone out, but there were more people on the stage than guests sitting at the tables, so he just continued filling glasses.

Edward chose a table in a corner from where he was able to watch everything but was rather safe from other people’s eyes.  
He saw Penguin saying something to a waiter, pointing into his direction and soon after, he was served a glass of water.  
Nygma was sure that his wish would be ignored, but Cobblepot seem to try his best to be at least a good host.  
There wasn´t much happening for a while, until a small group of men entered the club, walking straight to Penguin.  
Ed recognized the man’s popular face, it was Salvatore Maroni and he was definitely threatening Cobblepot.  
He couldn´t understand everything but Penguin’s face said enough.  
He was scared, almost terrified. He shouldn´t be scared, Ed thought, people should be scared of him.  
It was not only that Maroni threatened him; he also embarrassed him in front of all guests.  
When Maroni and his guys left the club, Oswald was shaking.  
As if he could feel Nygma’s eyes on him, he turned around and walked to the corner where the uninvited guest was sitting stiffly, watching him through his glasses.

“Are you feeling entertained?”, Cobblepot snarled but Ed didn´t seem to be affected by that.  
“Not at all.”, he replied. “I think he is making a mistake.”  
Oswald took the seat on the opposite, looking at the other man.  
“You are a smart guy, aren´t you?”, he said and Edward smiled.  
“I am.”  
“Then I guess there is a reason why you came here tonight and I don´t think it is because you wanted a free glass of water.”  
“No.”  
“Then what is it?” Oswald folded his hands on the table and managed a cheerful smile.  
Ed mimicked the other man’s position and smiled back.  
“I heard the conversation you had with Jim Gordon earlier. I heard what you said to him.”  
“I said a lot.”  
“You said it is better to walk with a friend in the dark, than walking alone in the light.”  
Oswald’s smile faded.  
“People don´t treat me very well. I am tired of walking alone in the light.”, Edward said, his expression turning serious.

Cobblepot watched the other man intensely, a lot of thoughts rushing through his head.  
So this guy from the GCPD offered him his friendship.. no.. he asked for it.  
He didn´t seem to be very strong but if he was smart enough, he could be really useful.  
Having a mole in the GCPD was in fact a good thing, but could he trust him?  
Oswald didn´t trust anyone but himself and his mother…and Jim Gordon.  
But as recent events proved, the friendship with Gordon was rather one-sided.  
This Nygma seemed harmless und could be easily underestimated, that wasn´t essentially a bad attribute to start with.  
He seemed to know exactly what he wanted and if he would betray him, it would be easy as pie to get that guy out of the way.

“So, you are offering to work for me. What do you expect to get from me in return?”, Oswald asked, still suspicious of the other man’s motives.  
“I want to get noticed.”, Ed replied and Oswald laughed.  
“That is not very clever if you are going to become my secret spy.”  
“Not for now.”, Ed interrupted. “When the time is right, I want everyone to see my potential and I want them to regret how they treated me all the time.”  
“Why me?”  
“Soon, you will become a man with a lot of influence.. I can see that. And.. you noticed me.”  
“You were sneaking around, of course I noticed you.”  
“I always do that. People usually don´t pay much attention. You did.”

Oswald leaned back, still thinking about what to decide.  
Yes, he was kind of a psychopathic killer, but somehow he didn´t have the heart to send this guy away.  
He knew the feeling of being mistreated just too well.  
He felt the pain of being hurt with every step he took.

“Ed. You seem to be a good guy. Are you really sure you want to join my business? Once you are in, there is no way out. Well, at least not alive.”, Oswald’s own words made himself chuckle.  
Edward shifted his glass between his fingers, biting his lip.  
He came so far; he even managed to talk to Penguin without being kicked out of the club.  
And he liked the way Oswald Cobblepot talked to him. He liked how his ice-blue eyes were fixed on him, paying full attention. 

“I don’t know if I am a good guy. People call me odd. They say I need professional help. They make me feel like a crazy, pathetic fool. That makes me very angry and sometimes I want to hurt them. I wonder if it would feel good, if it would make me feel better.”

A wide smile appeared on Oswald’s face.  
“Yes. Oh yes it would.”

Whatever Edward Nygma had in mind for his revenge, he wouldn´t be able to do it on his own.  
Oswald knew he had much more power than people expected.  
He just had to pull the right strings at the right time but what he needed were more and more strings and the man in front of him could help him collect.

“Can I offer you anything else to drink? Something to celebrate our potential alliance?”, he finally said, still smiling and this time it was not forced at all.

 

*** 


	2. Too close

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Too much alcohol makes events go into an unexpected direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I consider this my little warm up story. Not too complicated, chapters rather short, because it is my first story I write directly in english and not translated, so I hope it doesn´t become demotivating this way.. And yeah, sometimes I just love clichés X3

 

 

 

*** 2 ***

 

 

 

Ed didn´t know how many hours had already passed by.  
His vision was blurry and he felt light but dizzy.  
“You know.. This should have been my.. MY moment.”, Oswald slurred, lying half on his chair, half on Edwards lap.  
“Isn´t my club beautiful? No one came to see,.. why?”

“It is beautiful..”, Edward replied, an almost empty bottle of expensive wine in his right hand, his left was playing with the spikes of Oswald’s pitch-black hair.  
It was the third bottle they shared.  
“I like the little umbrellas. And the penguin figures, everyone likes penguins.”  
“I know right? Why don´t they like me? Why is no one taking me seriously? But you know what? They will. They will learn to!”, Oswald said, falling from the chair while he tried to change his position, hitting the floor with a dull sound.  
“Are you alright?”, Edward looked down, worrying about his new friend.  
“Help me up..”, Oswald mumbled, trashing around like a fish out of water.  
Ed stood up, almost stumbling over his own legs and needed a moment until the room stopped moving.  
He put the bottle aside and tried to pull Penguin back on his feet.  
After a few tries and eventually a little help from the smaller man, they succeeded.  
“I ..might need some fresh air..”  
Oswald’s face was paler than usual and Ed was afraid he would vomit any time soon.  
From almost three bottles, Oswald had about two.  
Edward wasn´t used to drink alcohol, so he already started to feel like fainting somewhere at the beginning of bottle two.  
Oswald glanced around and found the club empty.  
“Alright..let’s go..”, he grabbed the sleeve of Nygma’s suit, checked his own pocket for the keys and while they stumbled more or less simultaneously out of the club, he reached for his umbrella before the door snapped shut behind them.

It was a cold, rainy night in Gotham but none of them felt disturbed by that fact.  
The alcohol in their blood made them feel warm and closer than they actually were.  
Oswald opened his umbrella to protect them from the ice cold rain and hooked arms with Edward before they started wobbling down the alley.  
Ed was glad to have this little stability because he never felt so weak on his legs before.

“Hey. Hey, Ed! What is fat and stupid and rhymes with cannelloni?”  
“Maroni?”, Ed answered right away and both started giggling.  
“That was too easy. Try this! What comes down but never goes uaaa..”  
Before he was able to finish, he slipped on a drenched newspaper and found himself sitting in a puddle the next moment.  
“You?”, Oswald grinned.  
“Where are my glasses? I lost my..”

Oswald was too drunk to enjoy seeing his companion crawling on the wet pavement, fumbling for his glasses.  
He knelt down next to him, picking up the missing object.  
“Got them.”, he said and Ed turned around, looking at Oswald.  
His now wet hair stuck to his forehead, raindrops running down his face, the light of the streetlamp flattering his features.

“Why do people treat you like garbage.. It is either the smart or the beautiful that rule the world and you have both.”

The words just came out of Oswald's mouth, his voice sounding like from a different person.  
Edward was stunned for a moment.  
Everything that happened this night felt so surreal and after all that alcohol he wasn´t even sure if those words were real or just his imagination.  
No one ever made him a compliment like this.  
Without thinking about it, he clumsily grabbed the other man’s face and kissed him.  
Oswald froze, not able to react in any way.  
He learned how to react to people who wanted to hurt him, people who betrayed him or made fun of him, but this..  
He wasn´t even able to think anymore, how could he possibly be able to react to this.

Edward slowly realized that his kiss wasn´t returned and pulled back, just a little, their noses still touching.  
“T..too close..”, Oswald whispered, his eyes shut.  
“Don´t reject me..”, Ed didn´t know why he was saying or doing this.  
Maybe he just wanted to know how it would feel not to be pushed away just for once, but ..

Oswald felt Nygma moving away and opened his eyes to watch the other man standing up, weaving down the street.  
He never let anyone come close to him and especially not that close but on the other hand; no one ever wanted to be this close to him.  
Not in a physical way that had nothing to do with being hurt.

Still holding Edwards glasses in his hand, he stood up and followed him shakily.  
“Hey.. wait, I still have your..”  
Ed stopped and turned around, looking at Oswald directly, though he wasn´t able to see much without his glasses and the environment was unexpectedly moving again.  
But his eyes were full of hope that Oswald might have changed his mind and also filled with pain because he was so sick of being pushed away.

Oswald placed the glasses in his hand and Edward’s hope almost died, but the smaller man grabbed his collar with his now free hand to pull him down, answering the question in his eyes with kissing him back intensely.

It was like the world stood still for a moment.  
The tapping sound of the raindrops, hitting the umbrella, was the only thing he took note of while he was caught in the sensation of his second- and much better than the first- kiss.  
For the very first time in his life, Edward Nygma felt desired and this feeling filled his body with warmth, though he already started shaking from the cold.

Oswald’s brain had stopped working rationally; it was like he lost control over his body when they kept moving, still kissing, until they reached a main street and he got pulled into a car.

The next time Oswald Cobblepot opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was.  
The bright daylight hurt his eyes so he kept them shut just for a little longer.  
Who cared where he was, it was warm and comfortable.  
Maybe a little too warm.. Actually it was hot, too hot.  
He blinked until he got used to the light and found himself wrapped into some strangers arms, pressed against a hot body and he noticed his clothes were spread all over the floor in a room he had never been in before.  
He carefully moved around to find out who the stranger was and to his surprise, he recognized a not that strange face.  
The person snuggled against him was Edward Nygma, the guy from the GCPD who came uninvited to his party yesterday, sleeping peacefully.  
Memories of the evening slowly returned to some point but how the hell did they end up like this??  
His mental blackout frightened him and he didn´t want to wait until the other man woke up, so he slowly crawled out of the bed and sighed with relief when he managed it without disturbing Nygma’s sleep.  
When he picked up his dress pants, he grimaced as he noticed they were uncomfortably damp.  
Anyway, he couldn´t leave naked so he put on his wettish clothes and left in a hurry. 

He just hoped that Nygma couldn´t remember, because if they both didn´t know what happened, nothing happened.

***


	3. Penguin's Umbrella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald has a huge lack of memory while Edward is concerened about other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the next short chapter! Is there a right way to write Mrs. Kapelput's accent? If yes, I probably did it wrong, lol.  
> Whatever =)

 

 

*** 3 ***

 

 

The rain had stopped, but there was still an ice cold wind blowing, making Oswald freeze.  
When he reached home, his body was trembling.  
His mother opened the door, a concerned look on her face.  
“Where have you bin te whole night? Wat happened tu you?”, Mrs. Kapelput said without letting her terrible looking son in.  
“Hi, mom, would you please let me pass, I am very.. very cold.”, Oswald said and his mother stepped aside.  
“Did a woman du tis to you?”  
“No mom, no woman did anything to me, may I take a bath..please?”  
Assuming that his mother would prepare a bath for him as usual, Oswald hurried to get rid of the wet clothes.  
His mother followed him, touching his back with care when she stopped behind Oswald.  
“Don´t you lie tu me. A bad bad woman scratched your back, I can see.”  
“What?”  
Oswald hobbled to a mirror while Mrs. Kapelput continued babbling about hussies having him clutched in their claws, just to find out that his mother was right, there were actually light red scratch marks, starting at his shoulder blades, going down his back, fading somewhere about the height of his waist.  
“I am not lying to you and I think you don´t have to worry about a woman stealing me from you anymore, mom, I’m probably gay. Can I please take a bath now?”, Oswald repeated his request impatiently and sneezed.

“Of course, of course you can and den you tell me everysing.”  
Mrs. Kapelput left in a hurry to prepare everything for her beloved son.  
Oswald wrapped himself into a blanket he took from the couch and sat down, his head still empty.  
Whatever he did with Edward Nygma, it must have been something passionate, but how?  
He didn´t even know he was capable of something like enjoying someone else’s company.  
And Nygma was a stranger for him, he didn´t know anything about that man except that he works for the GCPD and he liked riddles.  
Also that people weren´t treating him well and his work wasn`t appreciated.

“Don’t reject me..”

The words rushed through Oswald’s head without context but he immediately started feeling guilty.  
Maybe he shouldn´t have left..  
Maybe he should have waited for answers, now he didn´t know what Edward knew and that made him feel uncomfortable and somehow vulnerable.  
He heard his mother calling and forced himself to the bathroom, where he slipped out of his underwear and let himself sink into the warm water, eyes closed.

He felt his muscles relaxing and sighed, while he heard his mother coming closer.  
“You don´t have to worry about me, mom. You know that my club opened yesterday and there was a little bit too much alcohol and I woke up with a man and can´t remember what happened. That’s all.”  
Oswald didn´t care much if his mother knew that he might be gay.  
He wasn´t even sure about it, but for her it must have been a relief.  
She always needed to be the only woman in his life so that was a happy coincidence, right?

“Did he rape you?”

Oswald looked at her with a puzzled expression.  
“No, mother. No one raped me, okay?”, he rolled his eyes, slowly getting annoyed.  
“He is a nice guy.”  
“Is he de policeman you talked about?”  
“No. That.. I was wrong about the policeman, it seems like he doesn´t want to be my friend at all.”, he said angrily, pressing his lips together.  
“But the other guy.. He is a little bit like me, you know. People hurt him for no reason. He wouldn´t do that to me, right?”  
“Of course not, no good person would hurt my sweet, sweet darling..”, Mrs. Kapelput said, reaching for the sponge.  
Oswald placed his hand gently on her wrist to stop her and managed a smile.  
“Would you leave me alone for a while? I am okay, I just need to think..”  
He could see that his mother wasn´t fully convinced, but she left the room anyway.

Oswald leaned back and closed his eyes again.  
The picture of a peacefully sleeping Edward Nygma appeared in front of his inner eye and made him smile.  
He came to walk with him in the dark..  
Well, at least they walked somewhere last night..

 

Edward Nygma woke up with a terrible headache.  
He noticed that he was alone and wasn´t sure if the returning memory in his head pictured events that actually happened or if all of that had just happened in a dream.  
He knew he took Jim Gordon’s invitation to gain access to Oswald Cobblepot’s grand opening party.  
His memory of the evening was very clear until he started drinking wine with the Penguin himself.

Ed was sure he remembered what happened but everything was a little blurry and mixed up.  
Oswald hasn´t been in a good mood and kept drinking until he kind of lost control over himself and they ended up kissing in a puddle.  
How did they get there?  
Edward sat up, running his fingers through his dark hair, his eyes suddenly widening.

“He didn´t solve my riddle.”, he said out loud, staring at some random point in the room.  
Swallowing down the urge to know if Oswald already knew the right answer, Ed looked around.  
He found his underpants close to the bed and slipped into them before he stood up, still a little weak on his legs.  
The rest of his clothes was spread out everywhere on the floor and his heart skipped a beat when he localized his favorite suit, crumpled and dirty.  
He had to bring it to the cleaners before work; otherwise it would bother him the whole day.

What time was it anyway?  
Ed decided to take a shower first, because he felt a little sweaty.  
The bathroom was how he left it, so no one else had used it..  
In his memory he got home in a cab, with Oswald by his side but there was no sight of the other man.  
Did they really come here together?

About twenty minutes later, Edward was ready for work, dressed as usual.  
His suit was well packed in a suit bag and he was already a little late, so he decided to drink his first coffee in the office.  
When he was about leaving his small flat, he almost tripped over something and looked down to identify the dangerous object.  
It was a black umbrella lying next to the door; Penguin’s umbrella.

A wide smile brightened up Ed’s face and he picked it up with heartbeat.

He was here, Oswald Cobblepot was here.

***


	4. The Edward-issue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed leaves a message for Oswald which makes him realize that pretending nothing happened is not an option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get the feeling that this is slowly going into a fluffy direction...

 

 

 

*** 4 ***

 

 

Oswald decided that he had to go check his club as fast as possible.  
He couldn´t even remember leaving it so he needed to make sure that the club was still there.

He felt much better after the bath and in fresh clothes.  
When he was about to leave the house, he realized that his umbrella was missing.  
He must have left it in the club, he thought, one more reason to go there fast.

After a short cab ride, he reached his new baby and from the outside everything looked normal.  
Oswald took the two steps to the door and fumbled for his keys, when he noticed that there was his umbrella, leaning against the wall, hidden in the shadow of the doorframe.  
Did he leave it there?  
He picked it up and found an envelope attached to the handle.  
It was light green and had a question mark written on the front.

Oswald looked around to check if anyone watched him, but the street was empty so he entered the club, switched the light on and chose a random table to sit down.

Careless of the club’s condition, he opened the envelope, unfolded the letter and read to himself quietly.

“Have you solved it, yet?  
What comes down, but never goes up? E.”

Oswald turned the paper around to see if there was anything else written and there actually was a half erased phone number on the back.  
The numbers were barely visible if you weren´t looking for something, but still easy to read.

Not sure what to do with this letter, he looked at his umbrella.  
“Rain.”, he said and suddenly a flashback hit him like a dodgeball.

He saw him and Edward leaving the club, stumbling into the rain.  
He remembered kneeling on the wet ground and being kissed.  
He saw Edward’s sad eyes, when he was looking at him afterwards and then they were kissing again.  
Oswald tried, but he wasn´t able to remember when they stopped.  
Or if they stopped at all..  
But what should he do now?  
He must have forgotten the umbrella at Edward’s home and Ed must have brought it here before he went to work so he definitely knew that Oswald was with him the whole night.  
And he remembered that he asked him this stupid riddle when they left the club, so he must at least remember their kiss.

The option to pretend that nothing had happened died with this realization.  
Still clueless how to handle this situation, Oswald searched for his mobile phone and called a cleaning company.  
The Edward-issue had to wait a little longer.  
For now he had to get his club ready for the evening.

 

It was the first time ever that Edward Nygma was late for work.  
He sneaked into the GCPD building, expecting to be in real trouble, but no one noticed.  
“Awesome.”, Ed said to himself sarcastically and walked to his office normally, like nothing was different from other days where he wasn’t late.  
He took his time to drink some coffee while he looked through a new file he found on his table, when suddenly the door flew open and two men entered his office.  
“Ed, what you’ve got?”, Bullock said, followed by Gordon.  
Edward looked up, forcing a smile.  
“Good morning Detectives. What I’ve got is a headache and a new file on my desk which I am about to work through.”  
“Are you alright, Ed?”, Gordon asked, seriously concerned, because usually they didn´t need to wait for Edward Nygma to come up with solutions and theories, proudly showing every detail he discovered.  
“I am. Why?”, Ed asked, still smiling.  
“Because you look like you had a hard time last night, what I consider a good time but you.. wait, is that a hickey?”, Bullock asked, pointing on Ed’s neck with an amused chuckle. “Are you ..dating?”  
Harvey Bullock sounded like he had just asked if he had been to the moon and back last night.  
His smile vanished and his hand went up to the point where Bullock just touched him.

“Harvey..”, Gordon hissed, giving Ed an apologizing look.  
“Take your time, let us know when you discovered something.”, Jim said with a half-hearted smile, shoving Bullock out of the office.  
“What? Do you believe he is dating?? You can´t even have a normal conversation with that kid, how..”  
“That kid can still hear you…”, Jim interrupted, his voice low.  
“Did you see the hickey??”  
“Maybe it is just an allergic reaction, now move on!”

The door slammed shut and Edward pressed his lips together.  
Hearing those words made him angry and sad at the same time.  
Was it so hard to believe that he was capable of having a date?  
Well.. Technically it hasn´t been a date..  
It just happened..naturally.  
He let his fingertips slowly glide over the spot on his neck.  
In the morning he didn´t notice that Oswald had left any visible traces on him, but he liked the feeling.  
Now others could see that there was in fact someone in this town who enjoyed being close to him.  
No one had to know that it was under the influence of too much alcohol..

Edward closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the feeling of being kissed.  
The sound of the raindrops, the taste of wine on Oswald’s lips..  
He smiled.  
As he started thinking about what happened later that night at home, he felt heat rising in his cheeks and opened his eyes again to remind himself where he was and that he had work to do.

He was about to reach for the file again as his mobile phone made a strange noise which signalized, that he got a text message.  
With rising heartbeat, he took his phone and opened the message.

“Rain?  
P.”

Edward smiled happily and waited three Mississippi’s before he typed back: “Is that a question, or the answer?”

A few minutes later he got a reply.

“The answer. Thanks’ for returning my umbrella.”

“You’re welcome. Are you alright? You left without a note.”

Waiting for the answer made Edward really nervous and for this one Oswald took his time.  
He had his eyes fixed on the display, biting his lower lip.  
After a few more minutes that felt like eternity, he finally heard the relieving sound of getting a message.

“Sorry for that. See you later?”

***


	5. Precious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald is in a bad mood but Ed has something to cheer him up.

 

 

*** 5 ***

 

 

Ed almost jumped up out of excitement.  
Oswald Cobblepot didn´t just end up with him last night, he also wanted to see him again!!  
This was better than anything he ever expected to happen.  
Despite the fact that he used to have a huge crush on Kristen Kringle, he felt attracted to the Penguin from the very first moment.  
The little man’s aura was simply breathtaking and he never thought he would be able to get that close to him.  
And he never thought that it would feel so good.  
Ed didn´t care if what happened yesterday would possibly never happen again, as long as he was allowed to be with Oswald.  
As long as he made him feel special in any possible way..

He typed one last message, before he returned to his work.

“Later then.”

Oswald checked the message he just got and nodded with a little smile on his lips.  
He just had to meet Edward Nygma again, after what possibly happened yesterday.  
What..very much seemed to have happened.  
It was dangerous to spend an evening with a stranger and not being able to remember.  
He could have told him anything.  
Though he wasn´t able to trust him yet, he needed to keep him close until he could make sure that he really wanted to be his friend.  
Remembering their kiss made his heart beat faster and imagining what could have made the other man leaving scratch marks like that on his back, made him feel dizzy.  
He couldn´t let himself been blinded by affection, it was too much of a risk.  
But wouldn´t it be nice to not just have a new tool, but also a true friend or possibly even a potential lover?  
Was it just so hard to believe because he had already taken the idea of having someone by his side off the list ages ago?  
And would Ed be able to handle what he really was?  
Could he accept the fact that he was capable of killing people so easily without regrets?  
With having fun, even?  
Oswald remembered what he said to him last night.  
That he was thinking about hurting people because it could make him feel better.  
What If Edward Nygma really had a dark side hidden behind his childish nature..  
If he had, Oswald would be the first one to embrace it.

 

When Nygma finished his work for today, it was already dark outside.  
Most of the people who worked for the GCPD already left hours ago.  
Ed was happy that he managed to pick up his favorite and now cleaned suit in his lunch time and decided to change clothes in his office.  
He was just buttoning up his shirt, a dark grey one this time, as someone knocked at the door, entering without waiting for an invitation.

It was Jim Gordon, looking like he felt guilty about something.  
“Detective Gordon, how can I help you?”, Ed asked friendly, trying to arrange his bowtie without having a mirror.  
“I just came to apologize for what Bullock said earlier. He shouldn`t have made fun of you.”, Gordon said and Ed smiled.  
“It’s not your duty to come over and feel sorry for something someone else said. But I appreciate that.”  
“I know, he should be here instead. Anyway, I am happy for you, that you are seeing someone.”

Jim Gordon, Ed thought, always trying to do the right thing.

“Where misery is, there’s always hope. Isn´t that right, Detective?”, he said, smiling factitiously.  
“Right. Anyway..”, Jim was about to leave because he kind of had sympathy for Edward Nygma on the one hand, but on the other hand he just freaked him out sometimes.  
This was one of those moments, but..  
“Let me help you.”, he said instead, not being able to ignore Ed’s awkward fumbling on his bowtie without having any success.  
“That is really not necessary, I can do that on my..”  
“Done.”  
Jim smiled, patting Ed’s shoulder.  
“Have fun tonight.”  
“I will.. I guess..”, Ed said, watching Detective Gordon leave.

Now he just had to return some files he needed for research and then he was ready to go.  
When he reached Miss Kringle’s working space, he stopped as he was about to open the door.  
There was still light in the room, so he assumed she was still there.  
He always thought that Kristen Kringle must be the perfect match for him, but for her he was just a creep.  
It hurt, realizing that she would never return his feelings, but right now someone else was waiting for him and knowing that made it easier.

And it was not just some random person, it was Oswald Cobblepot.  
He wanted to see him again so badly that his hands started to feel sweaty, so he hurried into the room, making Miss Kringle jump out of surprise.  
“Mr. Nygma. Why don´t you just knock? Someday you will cause me heart attack.”, the young woman said breathlessly.  
“I can guarantee you, Miss Kringle, that is not my intention. I came to return the files.”, Ed said and she rolled her eyes at him.  
“I was just about to leave, I am already late for my date so can you just sort the files in without changing anything, I mean it, don´t change anything! You can give me the key tomorrow, I have a second one.”, Kristen Kringle said, leaving the key next to the door.  
“Alright, I will. Good night, Miss Kringle.”, Ed said, smiling at her.  
She sighed.  
“Good night, Mr. Nygma. Don´t forget to lock the door!”  
“I won’t.”  
His friendly smile turned almost diabolic when Kristen Kringle had left the room.  
“This is going to be a fun night.”, he said to himself cheerfully.

Oswald was sitting at the piano on the little stage in his club, playing a happy melody which was very much in contrast to his actual mood.  
It was something he remembered from his childhood, when he was taking piano lessons.  
He never had much talent or patience for this kind of activities, but now it was slightly comforting.  
When he earned a silent applause for his play, he looked up with surprise.  
Edward Nygma was standing in the entrance, looking at him with a mischievous smile on his lips.  
“Come in.”, he said and Ed followed the invitation, his steps stiff as usual.

“That was charming. If you keep practicing, you could become really good.”, Ed said and stopped in front of the stage.  
“What a charming way to tell me, that I suck at playing.” Oswald countered, letting out an amused snort.  
“If you are trying to cheer me up, it is not working.”, he added, still smiling at the other man.  
“I am not. I have something much better to cheer you up.”, Ed said, holding up the files he had in his right hand and the key in his left.  
“Guess.”

Oswald sighed.  
“What is that?”, he pointed on the files.  
“Some files I needed for a case today. I haven´t returned them, yet.”, Ed said, not able to hide how excited he was.  
“So?”  
“Sooo I have a reason to go back and return them now.”  
“And?”, Oswald asked, slightly getting annoyed.  
He wasn´t in the mood for games and Ed was really testing his patience right now.  
“And with this key I have access to the files room. The whole night. Which is..a rare coincidence by the way.”  
Ed enjoyed seeing Oswald’s face slowly lightening up.

“Wait, are you just saying you are giving me access to the GCPD’s case files?”  
“I am.”, Ed assured with a proud smile.  
“What’s the catch?”, Oswald asked warily, slowly standing up, moving closer to the other man.  
“All we have to do is leaving the room the way it was, what is really challenging because Miss Kringle’s sorting system is a disaster. Once I tried to improve her system and she came in, screamed at me and..”  
Oswald stopped right in front of Ed.  
Still on the stage, he was now taller and able to look down on him.  
He laid his fingertips on Edward’s lips, making him shut up before he took his face in both hands and gently kissed him on the forehead.  
“You truly are precious.”, Oswald whispered against his skin, laying his arms around his neck.  
  
For a little while Ed wasn´t able to move or even breathe.  
Those words meant so much to him, he was about to cry.  
He dropped everything he was holding in his hands, wrapped his arms around the smaller man and pulled him into a tight embrace.

 

***


	6. Better than Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly Oswald embraces the idea of being liked by another person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably a little bit ooc...whatever.. they deserve some love X3

 

 

*** 6 ***

 

 

About 30 minutes later, the unequal couple reached the GCPD building.  
Oswald parked the car he had ‘borrowed’ in a safe distance and was visibly excited about the option to collect information about anyone he needed to fight down soon.

What also enhanced his mood was that he felt much more comfortable now, than he did this morning.  
He had a good feeling about Edward Nygma, it was easy to enjoy being with him.  
There was no feeling that he would stab him in the back any moment.  
He would give him this one, last and unique chance to take the special place in his life.  
Oswald wasn’t naive like his mother thought he was..  
But this time, maybe he just wanted to be.  
He refused to consider any longer that there might be bad intentions behind Edward’s actions.  
Just this one last time, he wanted to believe that he found a true friend. 

“There are security guards, how am I going to get in without being seen?”, Oswald asked, a little bit worried about the success of their plan.  
“I go in first, alone. They won´t worry about light inside, if they know I am still working. I let you in through the back entrance in the underground garage.”  
“Is that safe? Are there any cameras?”  
“There are, but I know how to trick them. You really don´t have to worry, just trust me.”  
Oswald looked at Edward.  
“It is not that easy, you know.. There is betrayal everywhere..”  
Before Oswald could go on talking, Edward took his hand and placed a kiss on its back.  
“I know, but ..I am not lying to you. And I never will. I know it’s just words ..let me prove it.”, Ed said, looking into Oswald’s eyes almost pleading.  
“I will. Don´t prove me wrong, because I really don´t want to hurt you..”  
Oswald meant those words exactly as he said them.  
He couldn´t deny that he felt attached to this guy, even if it was just yesterday when they met for the first time.  
Too much had happened between them in this few hours and what he was doing for him now, without even being asked for it, was just incredible.  
“In this town, no one does anything without a reason or without getting something for it.”  
“Neither do I. There is a reason why I am doing this and I am getting something for it.”  
“I am not giving you anything for this..”  
“Oh yes, you do. Now let’s go.”, Edward smiled and left Oswald alone, who watched him go straight to the entrance of the GCPD building.

“Wait.. is this a damn riddle again?”, he asked, but Edward couldn´t hear him anymore.  
Was it really enough just to be with him?  
But who wanted to be with him just for being with him? No one..  
From his childhood on, he was used to be bullied for almost everything.  
His height, his nose, his attitude, his name and now he had this damn walk what made him look like a clown.  
He always hated to be called Penguin, but slowly he got used to it.  
If you can´t fight it, embrace it..  
They wanted an umbrella boy? They could have him, but in Oswald’s very own way.  
But Edward?  
He was so different..  
The way he looked at him was different..  
There was sympathy, respect and kindness in his eyes and this was new to Oswald, but in a good way.

Slowly he felt like it was time to go to the described back entrance and started moving closer to it carefully, always aware to stay in the shadows as good as possible.  
When he finally reached the door without being seen, Ed was already waiting.  
“Follow me.”, he whispered playfully and took Oswald’s hand, as if he was afraid he could lose him in the dark.  
“You are not leading me into a trap, are you?”, Oswald asked jokingly but he was in fact a little worried.  
The next moment, he found himself pinned against the wall.  
“What are you do..”  
“Trapped.”, Ed interrupted and stole an innocent kiss from the slightly confused Penguin.  
Oswald was glad that it was dark, because he felt his cheeks flushing.   
No one had to see that..

Edward released him and continued moving down the hallway, still holding his hand, what made him almost stumble over his own feet when he was pulled along.  
“Ed, wait.”, he said, making the other man stop.  
He wasn´t sure if he would be able to ask this question when they were back in the light and he had to face the other man, so he had to do it now.

“Do you really like me? I mean.. like.. the way I am..?”  
There was silence for a moment.  
“I feel really uncomfortable with admitting that I don´t understand the question.”, Ed finally said, sounding a little bit churned.   
“There is no other way to like you except the way you are, right? I mean.. You are you and I am me and we are what we are and..”  
“Ed.”  
“Yes?”  
“Keep moving.”, Oswald repeated the same words he once said to end their very first conversation, but this time his voice was soft and he couldn´t fight back a genuine smile. 

They continued their way to the files room without talking but also without letting go of each other’s hands.  
Ed opened the door for his friend and smiled at him.  
“Here we are.”  
“Here we are!”, Oswald repeated, slowly nodding and no longer able to hide how excited he was.  
“This.”, he said, giggling to himself, “This is better than Christmas.”

Edward liked the way Oswald’s eyes started glistening.   
He waited by the door and watched him move around slowly, checking the boxes, opening some here and there.  
“Oh this will be very useful someday.”, Oswald said, obviously enjoying what he just found.  
“Can you copy this for me?”  
“Sure.”, Ed replied with a smile and took everything Oswald gave him. “Anything you want.”  
Oswald watched him leave and continued his search for helpful information.  
For this great opportunity, he wanted to give Edward something back, even if he wasn´t expecting it.

“So, what are you planning to do with all this information?”, Ed asked out of pure curiosity, after he had copied a few more files for Oswald, now sorting them back into Kristen Kringle’s horror cabinet of sorting system.  
“I will keep them until the time is right.”, Oswald smiled and sneaked behind Ed, -who just closed the last box-, to hug him.  
“Thank you..”, he whispered against his back, gently squeezing him. “Can I keep you?”

“You already made me yours last night.”, Ed said, feeling his own heartbeat rising.  
“Did I?”, Oswald mumbled, his eyes closed.  
“Don´t you remember?”  
Oswald loosened his grip and Ed turned around to look at him.  
“To be honest.. I don´t. I’m sorry.”, he confessed and Ed could see true regret in his eyes.  
“I..I wish I could but I can´t remember anything from the moment we got into that car.”, he stuttered and Edward looked so disappointed, it almost hurt.  
“Hey.. It’s not fair, right? So I guess we.. probably should...” Oswald cleared his throat and looked down to study his shoes, “I think we have to do it again.”, he shrugged and looked up again, with a well-played innocent expression.

Slowly Ed’s face brightened up and a cute smile appeared on his lips.  
He bent down while Oswald raised himself on tiptoes and once more, their lips met to share a hungry kiss.  
Ed placed his hands on the smaller man’s shoulders, while Oswald’s started wandering from his waist all the way over his chest, gently passing his neck and finally ended up clinging in his soft, dark-brown hair.  
“Here..?”, Edward mumbled into the kiss and Oswald chuckled against his lips.  
Not able to let go of one another, they just continued kissing, slowly gaining confidence in what they were doing.  
Without being drugged with alcohol, it was a complete new feeling for those two men who suffered from rejection their whole lives.  
Oswald was just about to unbutton Ed’s shirt, as a noise from the outside made them freeze.

 

 

***


	7. Bonnie and Clyde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald really appreciates what Ed did for him and now it's his turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Notes today because I have a headache... just enjoy =) *hopefully*

 

*** 7 ***

 

 

“Did you hear that?”, Oswald whispered and Ed needed a moment until he was able to answer.  
His heart was beating too fast and he was a little out of breath.  
Grudgingly, he let go of the man he desired way too much right know, and walked to the door.  
“I thought no one was supposed to be here.”, Oswald was getting really nervous while he watched Ed sneaking carefully out of the room.  
He collected all his copies with shaky hands and just a few seconds later, Ed came back in a hurry.  
“I wasn´t supposed to be here either. And I think someone is here..maybe just a security.. anyway, you have to leave fast, go back the way we came in and wait for me in the car. Be careful.”, Ed said hastily, while he shoved Oswald out of the room.

Ed made some noise intentionally so that,- whoever was in the building-, he or she was distracted from Oswald, who was waddling to the door that led to the hallway.  
He checked all the boxes and everything seemed in order when he decided to leave the room and bumped into Jim Gordon.  
“Detective Gordon.”, he stammered, not sure if he should be relieved or not, that it was just him.

Gordon looked at Nygma with an unreadable expression.  
“I was just driving by and saw light in the building. The security told me you are still working, so I was worried about you.. What happened to your date?”  
“I never admitted, that I had a date.”, Ed smiled. “I couldn´t sleep and came back to check on something. Miss Kringle was so kind to lend me the key to the files room.”  
Lying to Jim Gordon was not easy for Edward; he was the only nice and honest person he knew.  
But he had to protect his friend, there was no way around.  
“Are you sure?”, Gordon asked, not fully convinced about the truth of this story.  
He had never seen Ed like this before.  
His cheeks flushed, his hair tousled and his lips reddish and kind of swollen.  
“So you dressed up just for going home?”  
Ed started biting his lower lip.  
Usually his brain was fully functional in any situation, but now..  
Oswald’s scent was still surrounding him, his taste was still on his lips; how the hell should he be able to escape a tricky situation like this now?  
What story would be more believable?  
He had no idea how he looked like at the moment, so he tried something else.

“Okay, I had a date and got dumped. I got frustrated and needed to work to distract myself and because I didn´t want you to pity me, I came up with that story.”  
Jim knew exactly what Harvey would say right now, but he was not Harvey Bullock, so he swallowed down the comment about how much Ed looked like the opposite of dumped.  
The crazy idea came to his mind, that maybe Kristen Kringle was here with him and now she was hiding somewhere out of embarrassment.  
It sounded not very realistic to him, but at least logical and he wasn´t sure if he wanted to find out, so he played along.

“Well, did you find out anything new?”  
“Unfortunately, I didn´t. Thank you for worrying about me.”, Ed said and managed to fake a sad smile that fitted perfectly to his story.  
“It’s not a big deal. You should go home now, take some rest.” ,Gordon said with a little smile and Ed answered with a subdued nod.  
“Good night, Detective.”, he mumbled and gave Gordon the key, before he walked away.  
Jim looked around when Ed was gone.  
“Miss Kringle?”, he asked into the silence, feeling like a fool when there was no reply.  
“Well..at least that’s out of the question.”

Ed hurried to the car; always looking back to make sure no one was following him.  
When he jumped in, Oswald already had his hands on the wheel and immediately started the engine.  
“It was Gordon. When the security told him that it was me, still working, he just wanted to check if I was alright.”  
He turned his head to look at his friend, who didn´t reply and just looked straight on the street.  
“Are you alright? You are shaking..”, Ed noticed and touched Oswald’s arm, making the other man cringe.  
“I am sorry.. I didn´t mean to upset you..”, Ed leaned back and focused on the street in front of him.  
He couldn´t fight back the satisfied smile, slowly appearing on his lips.  
Oswald saw that from the corner of his eye and glanced at him angrily.  
“Do you think it is funny? He almost got us.”  
“Almost.”, Ed replied, raising his eyebrows, his smile becoming wider.  
Oswald’s features softened.  
“Don’t you think it’s exciting? I feel like Bonnie and Clyde right now.”, Ed said happily, making Oswald snort.  
“Welcome to my world.”, he said sarcastically, but couldn´t help smiling back at him.  
“I slowly get the feeling that you are a hopeless romantic.”  
“Are you? Do you like romance?”, Ed asked, sounding like an excited kid.  
A little while Oswald stared on the street thoughtfully until he replied: “I like you.”

They drove a while in silence as Oswald suddenly braked hard and turned into a street.  
“W..where are we going?”, Edward asked, his voice a little shaky from the shock of the impact.  
“Today, you let me in. Now it’s my turn.”, Oswald smiled.  
“Do I have to guess?”, Ed asked with excitement, but Oswald shook his head.

“I ..never did this before, so I’m a little nervous.. We are going to my home.”

About 20 minutes later, Oswald parked the car in an alley.  
“We have to walk the rest, I have no idea whose car this is.”, he confessed and Ed nodded.  
The fact that this car was stolen didn’t seem to affect him at all.  
While they walked down the street, Ed tried to take Oswald’s hand, but the smaller man pulled back.  
“Sorry, I really don´t know if I am the.. `holding hands`-type of guy..”, he excused himself and watched the look on Ed’s face turning sad.  
“Well. But.. I can try.”, he gave in to it eventually and let his friend hold his hand.  
“Just this one time.”, Ed promised with a sweet smile and Oswald nodded. “It’s fine.”, he smiled back.

Edward had to walk a little bit slower than usual because of their height difference and Oswald’s limp, but that gave him more time to enjoy it.  
“Does it still hurt?”, Ed asked out of context and got a puzzled look from Oswald.  
“Your leg.. It looks so painful..”  
“Ehm.. I ..got used to it, I think..”, Oswald said and tried to change the topic, “We are almost there! My mother is at home, but she’s probably asleep already, so we just have to be quiet.”  
“You are going to introduce me to your mother?”, Ed asked with surprise.  
“Well, since I already told her about you..”  
“You told her about me?” Ed almost couldn´t believe what he just heard.  
It was just about a day ago and Oswald couldn’t even remember most of their shared night and he already told his mother about him?

“Yeah, she saw the scratch marks you left on my back and I had to assure her that I wasn’t caught in the claws of some evil woman.”, he explained as annoyed as he always got when his mother was accusing him of something that wasn´t going to happen anyway.  
Ed blushed.  
“But in the claws of some creep..”, he mumbled and Oswald stopped, pressed his lips together and looked up to his friend.  
“Don´t ever say that again! You are special. ..And you are very special to me. People better don’t let me hear them talking like this about you, because if they do, I am going to hurt them. I killed for less.”  
A single tear left the corner of Ed’s eye.  
“Thank you..”, he whispered, not sure how to handle this beautiful words.

“Now come on, I’m tired.”, Oswald said softly and they continued their way to the house where he and his mother lived.  
“Do you think she’s going to like me?”, Ed asked nervously, when they entered the stairway.  
“You’re the first friend I ever brought home so, yes, she will. But you don`t have to worry until morning.”, Oswald tried to calm his companion, but when he was just about to open up the door, it suddenly flew open and Gertrude Kapelput appeared in the doorframe.

 

***

 


	8. Oswald and Edward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald gives Ed acces to his very private space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it took so long, I was on holiday and came back with a cold which I am still fighting with.. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, I am in a sensitive mood today and probably it became a bit too emotional but ...yeah, just enjoy some nygmobblepot love :3

 

 

*** 8 ***

 

 

 

“Mom.. shouldn’t you be asleep by now?”, Oswald asked, while Ed froze next to him.  
“How shuld I be able tu sleep, it’s so late again.. I always hav’ tu worry”, she said reproachfully, when she noticed the tall, skinny stranger standing next to her son, looking down shyly, his lips pressed together.  
“Who’s sis?”, Gertrude asked, studying the young man intensely.

“This.” Oswald started and sighed, “This is my..”, he tried to take Ed’s hand, but he clutched his own wrist so tight that it was impossible to loosen it, so Oswald touched his shoulder awkwardly instead.  
“My boyfriend. I told you about him.”  
It was like Ed awoke from a dream, when he heard the word “boyfriend”.  
He looked at Oswald with a baffled expression, then at his mother.  
“I’m Edward ..Nygma! It is such a pleasure to meet you!!”, he said louder than he had intended to and stepped forward clumsily, offering to shake her hand.  
Instead of accepting Ed’s offer, she grabbed his face with one hand and suddenly started smiling.  
“He is handsum’! You never told me. Look at his cheekbones!”, Gertrude said, sounding excited.  
“Yeah, I know his cheekbones.. Of course he is handsome, what have you expected, that I come home with a troll?”, he snapped, but his mother’s attention was still on Edward.  
“And so well dressed. Come in. Come in.”, she said, pulling Ed inside.  
Oswald rolled with his eyes and hobbled in after them.

Edward tried to think about something smart to say, but he was just too nervous.  
A riddle came to his mind, but recent events had proved that women aren’t so easily impressed by riddles.  
He cleared his throat and stuttered: “Oswald also never told me, that his mother is such a young and beautiful lady.”  
That was too much- he thought, she would never..  
“And so charming…”, Gertrude gleamed with pleasure.  
Surprised about her reaction, Ed smiled with relief.

Oswald was stunned for a moment.   
He wasn’t able to remember the day when anyone called him by his forename and in this moment, he actually felt like a human being and not just some joke on a damaged leg.

“Mom.. we are actually really tired. Can we continue this tomorrow please?”, he asked impatiently, suddenly feeling the urge to be alone with his friend and lover.

“Yes. Of course, of course.. I will get some bedding for your friend.”  
“Not necessary.”, Oswald said with a wry smile and grabbed Ed’s arm to pull him along.  
“Good night, mother.”, he said and Edward waved good bye, with a friendly smile.

When they finally reached Oswald’s private space and the door was shut, he leaned against it and exhaled.  
Ed looked around curiously, just to find out that his friend’s room wasn’t as flamboyant as the living room.  
“Sorry for this. I haven’t expected she would still be awake..”

“Do you think she likes me?”, Ed asked hastily, turning to his friend and Oswald smiled.  
“I guess.”  
He was still leaning against the door, looking at Edward intensely.  
“You called me by my forename..”, Oswald said and Ed raised his eyebrows.  
“Was that somehow inappropriate?”, he asked and walked a few steps up to the other man.  
Oswald shook his head, his eyes still locked with Edwards.  
“Do you want to know something interesting about the name Oswald?”, Ed asked with excitement and Oswald shrugged.  
“Sure.”  
“The name is put together from the words os, which means god, and weald, -rule. So the meaning is divine ruler. Quite the perfect name for you, don’t you think?”, Ed smiled proudly like always, when he was able to share knowledge.   
Oswald reached for the collar of his blazer, to pull him closer.  
“What does Edward mean?”, he asked, his voice soft.  
“Oh, it has the same origin. Ead means wealth or fortune and weard is the guardian, or protector..”, he explained and swallowed when he realized that he suddenly was only a few inches away from the other man’s face.  
Oswald smiled.  
“That sounds perfect for you as well..”, he whispered and leaned forward to finally get the kiss he was longing for all the time.  
When he felt Ed’s soft lips on his, he sighed devotedly, closed his eyes and leaned back against the door again.  
This was the only place in the world where he felt completely safe and it was the same with Edward.  
He felt safe with him and valued.  
He never thought that a human being could ever make him feel this good, but Edward Nygma did.  
“I’m so sorry..”, Oswald mumbled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Ed’s neck.  
“For what?”, Ed whispered and pulled back a little, just to be able to look into his friend’s eyes, but they were still closed.  
“That I sent you away the first time we met..”  
“You noticed me.. that’s all that matters to me.”, Ed assured him and before Oswald could say anything else, he made him shut up with another passionate kiss.  
Being here right now and being allowed to do this meant the world to Ed.  
He had called him his boyfriend in front of his mother, it was virtually official!   
They barely knew each other and yet it felt like they were just meant to be together.  
Here in Oswald’s room, where no one else has been before, except..

A knocking at the door interrupted their kissing and both men tried to hold their breaths.   
“I made hot chocolate. Do you want sum’?, Gertrude’s dull voice came through the door.  
Oswald buried his face in his hands and took a deep breath.  
“Do you want hot chocolate?”, he mumbled into his palms and Ed moved away from him.  
“Sure. I love hot chocolate.”, he said and smiled at Oswald as he let his hands fall and looked at him sorrowfully, his lips forming a silent “I’m sorry.”  
They let Gertrude come in and though she was smiling, she obviously just wanted to make sure that her son and his so called boyfriend still had their pants on.

“Thank you.”, Oswald said, as she placed the tablet on his nightstand.  
“Thank you, that is very kind.”, Edward added and both watched her sailing out of the room with a wide smile on her lips.

“She is.. a little possessive..sometimes.”, Oswald excused but Ed shook his head.  
“She is wonderful. And she loves you so much.”  
“Doesn’t your mom love you?”, Oswald asked and with a movement of the hand he offered Ed to sit down on the bed.  
Ed took one of the two mugs with both hands and followed the offer.  
“I don’t have contact with my parents anymore.. I don’t even know if they are still alive..”, he confessed and took a sip from the still steaming chocolate.  
“This is a very good hot chocolate.”, Ed said and tried to manage a smile but the sadness in his eyes was overshadowing it.  
Oswald didn’t know what to say and hobbled to a rather old looking commode that was barely visible in the shadows of the corner.  
Edward watched him searching for something and a few minutes later Oswald came back, holding a dusty little box in his hands.  
He sat down next to Ed, who put his mug aside and waited patiently, until Oswald was able to speak.

“I made this in second grade in art class..”, he started and cleared his throat, “I want you to have it.”  
He gave Ed the box, without looking at him.  
“That is a nice box, thank you.”, Ed said and now Oswald looked at him perplexedly.  
“It’s not the box, dumbo, look inside!”  
“Oh..”, Ed said sheepishly and started fumbling at the lid.  
When he finally managed to open it without spreading too much dust around, he found a little knotted bracelet, mixed in red, black and purple.  
“It’s a friendship bracelet.. We had to make one and trade with our best friend. I had no friend I could give this to, so my teacher said I should keep it until I find one.”  
“You kept this all the time and now you want to give it to me?”, Ed asked in disbelief and Oswald nodded.  
“You are my friend, right?”  
“Of course I am..”, Ed said with a broken voice and pulled Oswald into a gentle embrace.  
Oswald buried his face in the crook of his neck and whispered: “Stay with me..”  
“I’m not going anywhere, I promise..”

 

 

***


	9. Oswald's dirty little secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald discovers a bunch of new feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more fluffy times chapter before things might change a little ^^; enjoy~

 

 

*** 9 ***

 

 

 

 

Later that night, Ed found himself snuggled into soft blankets, with Oswald Cobblepot in his arms.  
Oswald had borrowed him some pajama pants and a t-shirt, both too big for the little man, but still too small for Edward.  
His fingers were playing gently with the bracelet, which was now knotted around his right wrist.  
It was the most beautiful present he ever got and he promised himself to never take it off.  
Ed tried to imagine how cute Oswald must have been at that young age and how he gave his best to make a good bracelet, even when there was no one he could give it to.  
“I wish we could have met earlier..”, Ed whispered into the darkness and felt the warm body next to him shifting.  
“Sorry, did I wake you up?”

“No.. I can’t sleep..”, Oswald mumbled.  
He was frustrated, because they tried about three times to continue what they were about to do before Gertrude served them hot chocolate and she interrupted each time, so they gave up and decided it was not possible to do things, when his mother was around.  
“I’m glad we met now. It is the right time for us, I can feel it.”

“You said you killed people..”, Edward suddenly mentioned quietly.  
“I did.”  
“Did they deserve it?”  
“More or less..”

There was an indefinable silence between them for a while.

“I would never hurt you..”, Oswald said eventually and took Ed’s hand in his.

“I know. Also I would never give you a reason...”

“Good.”, Oswald whispered and kissed the back of his hand.  
“It is important, that we can trust each other. There is no one in Gotham whom you can trust. Maybe I am the least trustworthy person..”  
“So you would recommend to not trust you?”, Ed asked playfully and Oswald snorted.  
“Very much, yes.”, he confessed with a chuckle.  
“That’s funny. You tell everyone that they can trust you but they can’t. And you are telling me I can’t trust you, so I can.”, Ed said and moved closer to his friend.  
“Yeah you can trust me, brainiac..”, Oswald smiled and crawled back into Ed’s arms. 

Ed placed a kiss on Oswald’s forehead and snuggled his nose into his hair to inhale his scent.  
He once overheard a conversation between two guys from the GCPD, who were gossiping about the almost legendary Penguin.  
They said he was a filthy little punk and that you could smell him even before you could see him.  
Those stupid bastards..  
Oswald’s skin smelled clean with a light note of soap and his hair like a mixture of mild shampoo and styling products.  
When he suddenly felt the hot breath and soft lips of his friend, caressing his neck, he closed his eyes.  
How did this all happen so fast?  
Two days ago he didn’t even have a friend and now he had this..  
The hands that just slipped under his t-shirt, now wandering gently over his skin, were the hands of a killer…  
Those warm hands would never hurt him, Ed thought, feeling his own heartbeat rising.

Oswald felt Ed’s muscles relaxing as he touched him and enjoyed the feeling of being able to have control over someone in this very new way.  
He could hear him moan softly and even if it was dark, he could imagine how beautiful his face must look right now.  
No..  
That wasn’t imagination..  
Oswald’s heart skipped a beat as the memory of their first night came back all at once.  
Ed, lying under him, his face relaxed, eyes closed and cheeks flushed, moaning softly..  
He was so beautiful..  
Then the image faded, but the feeling was still present.  
The moment when their bodies melted together for the first time, the heat he was filled with..  
It was intense, full of passion, but peaceful and pure at the same time.  
Ed already said, that he made him his that night, but now he remembered the meaning of it.  
Edward Nygma was his...

“Why did you stop?”, Ed’s voice woke him up from his flashback and just now he realized, that he wasn’t breathing the whole time.  
“I can remember.”, Oswald gasped and rolled over to switch on the little lamp on the night stand.  
He just needed to see Edward’s face now.  
Ed sat up and blinked at his friend with his warm, brown eyes.  
He looked so different without the glasses..

“I just remembered. Us. Our.. first time..”, Oswald tried to explain and saw Ed’s eyes widening.  
“I never had anything like this with anybody before.. and it was just.. perfect.”  
Ed sighed with relief and smiled happily.  
“Yes it was.”, he agreed.  
“I’m afraid I can’t let you ever leave me.. No one ever made me feel this way..”  
Oswald seemed obviously confused and a little overwhelmed with everything.  
He was good in using tricks and force to get what he wanted but he knew, this time it was different.  
Some higher force gave him this incredible gift and now he had to find a way to keep it without any dirty tricks.  
“Like I said, I am not going anywhere..”, Ed assured his friend once more and a single tear left the corner of Oswald’s eye.  
“Are you okay?”, Ed worried because Oswald’s body started trembling.  
“I.. don’t know..”, the smaller man confessed, his voice broken. “What if I mess this up?”  
“You won’t. You can’t.. You already gave me your bracelet.”, Ed said and pointed at his wrist which made Oswald laugh helplessly.  
“You’re right.”, he nodded, “I deserve this. We both do.”  
“Yes we do. Now calm down okay? I’m here and I won’t leave unless you send me away.”  
Oswald took a deep breath and nodded again.  
“Sorry, I don’t know what just happened.. All of this is new..”  
“For me too, I can barely believe that it happens. It also frightens me but being with you makes me so happy so I just want to embrace it and enjoy every second I am able to share with you. We don’t have to rush things… I just..don’t want to be alone anymore..”

“Don’t you think we already rushed it a little?”, Oswald asked with a wry smile.  
“I will keep the bracelet! You can’t have it back.”, Ed replied hastily, protecting his treasure with his other hand and again Oswald laughed.  
Seeing his friend like this made Edward smile.  
It was different from his usual smiles or the way he laughed.  
Oswald Cobblepot had an excellent gift in talking with people.  
He could sense what people wanted to hear and please them with words easily though he always seemed a little tensed.  
Now his whole body language had changed, his features softened..

“This is just for us, okay?”, Ed said softly and Oswald locked eyes with him.  
“So.. are you my dirty little secret now?”, he asked and both shared a mischievous smile.

Oswald switched off the light and they snuggled back under the sheets.  
His smile faded as he thought about what he just said.  
Everyone has a secret..  
His own words suddenly frightened him.  
Discovering people’s secrets was his method to play against them and hurt them in most terrible way.  
What if someone who wanted to hurt him found out about Ed? 

This time it was him who pulled Edward into his arms protectively and Ed automatically huggled against him.  
“But we have to be careful..”, he whispered and pressed his lips on Ed’s soft hair.  
“We will..”, Ed whispered back, still smiling, and closed his eyes.

The next morning, Ed had to leave early for work.  
Oswald would have preferred a little more time to enjoy waking up next to his lover, this time fully aware of the situation, but the other man better wasn’t late for work again.  
Ed needed to go home first to change clothes, or Gordon would probably become a little suspicious about last night’s events.

Oswald escorted him to to the front door and after a short check that no one was around, he kissed his friend good bye, quickly.

Though he hadn’t told Edward about his worries, both men agreed that it would be for the best if they wouldn’t meet again for the rest of the week.

He hobbled back to the apartment, where his mother was already waiting for him.  
“Are you okay, Oswald?”, she asked, “You look pale.”  
“I.. I feel sick, mom..”, he let himself fall into the closest armchair, “Like I can’t breathe and I think I am about to vomit any time soon.”, Oswald announced, but his mother just smiled at her son.

“Tat’s because you’re in love, dear.”

 

***

 


	10. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed and Oswald get into some kind of trouble..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what I am doing.. this stoy writes itself. I kind of needed this little change and reference to the last episode so...well.. I hope you enjoy it anyway ^^;;

 

 

 

*** 10 ***

 

 

 

The week went rather good for Edward Nygma.  
He had a lot of work to do, which was a perfect distraction from his unstoppable desire to see Oswald.  
This morning, he was called to the riverside of Gotham to examine a body some fisherman pulled out of the water earlier.  
Water corpses were a fascinating thing for Ed to discover, so he was in a very good mood today.  
He even forgot to think about Oswald for a while.  
As he was about to pull a little, blue flower out of the victim’s nose, suddenly his mobile phone started vibrating in his pocket.  
He saved the evidence in a tiny plastic bag and pulled out his phone to check his messages.

“It’s a riddle.”

Ed raised his eyebrows.  
The message was from Oswald, but without any given hint to a solution.  
He looked around and then back on the evidence in his hand.  
Myosotis, or better known as ‘forget-me-not’.  
Ed felt his heartbeat rising.  
Hastily he typed back: “Are you watching me?”  
“I am. ;^>”  
Ed was smart enough to not start looking around like a fool now, but he couldn’t help smiling at this sweet gift.

“Stop sexting, Romeo, did you find out anything yet?”, Harvey Bullock interrupted, making Ed wince in surprise.  
He looked up to the Detectives Bullock and Gordon with an almost guilty expression on his face.  
“Think you’ve got him there..”, Gordon said sarcastically and Harvey grinned.  
“Did I? Are you?”, he mocked and Ed felt heat rising in his cheeks.

“Of course not, Detective, I checked the flower I just pulled out of that guy’s nose.”, he lied.  
Sure he didn’t have to check on it..  
“And?”  
“Myosotis.”, Ed replied, enjoying the clueless looks on the other men’s faces, “Or commonly known as ‘forget-me-not’.”, he smiled cynically.  
“Could be a message or signature.”, Gordon said to Bullock thoughtfully.  
“If it is a signature, we probably have a serial killer.”, Harvey replied.

“Ed, you go try to find out who this was and look through the case files if you find something similar to this.”, Jim ordered.

“Will do.”, Ed smiled and stood up, while the body was transported to a van.  
He headed to another police car and took place in the backseat.  
Now he finally felt free to search for a hint where Oswald could be, but there was no sign of his friend.  
He opened his messages again and wrote: “I miss you.”  
It took only a few seconds until he got a reply.

“Soon, dear friend.”

Edward smiled and looked out of the window as the car started moving.

Oswald waited until the GCPD crime scene unit left, before he came out of his hiding place.  
Of course he couldn’t know if his plan would work, he expected that in the best case the body would be examined by Ed in the GCPD building and later he would have asked him if he had noticed something.  
It was a happy accident that he overheard a conversation about a dead body, found in the river this morning.  
Could have been anybody, but he decided to have a look by himself.  
Also he hoped to be able to see his friend, he really missed him.  
His mother was probably right when she said that he was in love.  
Edward Nygma made him feel things he never felt before and he didn’t need to know him for years to be sure about that.  
One look into his eyes and he knew, that he could trust him.  
The gift he had seemed to work both sides, he just never knew it before.

Lost in thoughts, Oswald didn’t even notice that a group of masked men was following him for a while.

When Edward finished his work in the evening, his mood was even better than it already had been this morning.  
He found the perfect story to frame a stranger for this murder and no hint would lead to Oswald Cobblepot.  
He really needed to find out how Oswald was able to arrange all this, because it was more likely doomed to fail.  
Ed was pretty sure that he didn’t kill the man for him, but for some other reason, so it didn’t bother him much.  
Oswald was a killer, who knew how many of his victims had already been under Ed’s observation.

While Edward walked home, he decided to give his friend a call; he just couldn’t wait any longer.  
He missed his voice, his scent, his warm hands..  
Ed turned into a small alley to escape from the loud street and leaned against the wall, well hidden in the shadows of the buildings.  
He took his mobile phone in both hands and selected Oswald’s number from the address book, his heart beating fast when he pressed the call button.

“The person you are calling is not available at present.”

Ed couldn’t hide his disappointment, as he heard the female computer generated notification instead of his boyfriend’s silky voice.  
Clueless what to do now, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.  
Should he just go to the club? What if Oswald would be mad at him..

While Ed was still hesitating whether to go home or drop by Oswald’s club, a stranger- unaware that he was not alone in the alley- walked by.  
The tall, dark figure talked heatedly on the phone and Ed couldn’t care less until he picked up the word ‘Penguin’.  
He opened his eyes and turned his head slowly into the stranger’s direction before an impulse made him follow the man without attracting his attention.

“Yeah, we caught him off guard at the riverside… Pretty much, yes. …. You could call it a friendly warning.”, he laughed, “In fact I’m not sure if he is still alive, that little brat looked pretty bad when we left him.”

Ed felt the blood in his veins freezing, which was overshadowed by rage, starting to burn inside of him the next moment.  
He didn’t even know what he was doing when he grabbed the man’s shoulder to make him stop.

Obviously annoyed, the stranger turned around, staring at Ed with burning eyes.  
“”What do you want, kiddo..?”, he hissed.  
“What did you do to Oswald Cobblepot? Did you hurt him?”, Ed asked through gritted teeth and his hand slipped automatically into his pocket, searching for the knife he always carried with him.

The man grabbed his throat and warned: “I think that’s none of your concern, now back off.”  
“Oh, I think it is.”, Ed whispered fiercely and as the man was about to punch him, he pulled ne knife out of his pocket.  
The sharp blade cut through the man’s flesh like butter and Ed felt a warm liquid, covering his hand.  
He stared into his opponents eyes.  
They were staring back at him, wide opened and in a state of shock.  
The stranger was still holding his phone in his left hand and Ed could hear the dull voice of his dialog partner.  
His head was completely empty when he stabbed the man again and again until he sank on his knees. The next moment, his body hit the ground hard like a heavy sack and remained motionless.  
Ed picked up the phone with shaky hands; the other person was still there.  
“What happened?? Answer me, dude!”  
“Consider this a friendly warning.”, Ed said, his voice unexpectedly calm, “Don’t fuck with Oswald Cobblepot. That’s my privilege. …Literally! “ 

Ed dropped the phone and looked down at the dead body, slowly realizing what he just did.  
“Oh dear..”, he mumbled and buried his hands in his pockets.  
He stumbled a few steps backwards and looked around but the alley was empty, so he just hurried back to the main street.  
Still in a state of shock, all he could think of was Oswald.  
He needed to go home as fast as possible to get his car to drive to the riverside of Gotham.  
Everything around him turned silent, even the traffic seemed to stand still.  
His heart was beating fast, his vision blurry and yet he felt stronger that he ever did before.

When he finally reached home, he could see a small, contorted figure leaning against the doorframe.  
It wasn’t hard to guess who that was and Edward’s heart skipped a beat.

“Oswald..”, he whispered and fastened his steps.

 

 

***

 


	11. My safety blanket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed takes care of Oswald's wounds. Physically and mentally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys~ I was so happy to see some new faces in my comments! =D you keep me motivated!! This time even the chapter became a little bit longer =) enjoy~ <3

 

 

 

*** 11 ***

 

 

 

“OSWALD!”, Ed called out loud and started running.  
The small man slowly turned into his direction, one hand at the doorframe to keep himself stable.  
Even in the dark, Ed could see how bad his friend must be injured and felt tears burning in his eyes.

With the little bit that was left of his strength, Oswald took one step forward and let himself fall into Edward’s arms.  
Safe..  
Without a word, they were just holding each other for a little eternity.  
Ed wasn’t able to hold back his tears any longer; his body started trembling as he sunk down on his knees, taking Oswald with him.  
He thought he had lost him forever and as a result, he killed a man.  
All of this was too much for him to take.

Oswald was too weak to even realize that Ed was crying, he just felt relieved and comfortable and this would definitely be the perfect place to die right now, but he was still breathing and his heart didn’t want to stop beating…

“Sorry.. I didn’t know where else to go..”, Oswald mumbled, his voice thin.  
Ed moved a little bit away from him, wiped away his tears and carefully took Oswald’s face in both hands.  
It was covered with bruises; a trace of dried blood went from his nose to the corner of his mouth.  
His lower lip was split open and swollen.  
“This is the place for you to go. Whatever happens.”, Ed whispered, brushing his forehead with his lips.   
“Why are you bleeding?”, Oswald asked weakly, reaching for Ed’s hand.   
“It’s not my blood..”, Ed assured him dryly, “We should go inside..”  
“Wait..what happened..”

Ed took a deep breath.  
“There was a man in an alley. He was talking on the phone about you and I followed him. I heard him telling someone what he and others did to you, said he didn’t even know if you’re still alive. Then I stabbed him.”

“You.. you stabbed him..”

Ed nodded.  
“About.. eight times.. maybe. He’s dead.”

Oswald blinked at his friend once.. twice.. then suddenly he burst out laughing like a maniac.  
He didn’t even care how much his face hurt and that the wound on his lip split open again, he just couldn’t stop laughing.

“Also I left a message for the guy on the phone. Told him no one fucks with you but me.. Maybe that was a mistake..”, Ed confessed but Oswald just laughed even more.

“No.. no, that’s hilarious.”, he giggled and then suddenly he stopped and his expression turned serious. “And true.”, he added honestly and leaned forward to kiss his lover with burning passion.

Ed closed his eyes and kissed him back devotedly, but the taste of blood on Oswald’s lips reminded him of his friend’s current state, so he forced himself to break up.

“We really should go inside.. People better don’t see us together like this.. Can you walk?” Ed asked softly and looked deep into Oswald’s ice-blue eyes.  
“With your help..”, he answered, a little bit sad about the fact that Edward was probably right..   
In this moment he felt like shouting out to the world how much he loved this man.  
He wanted to show everyone that Edward Nygma was his and he wanted everyone to be jealous of what they had.

Together they made their way to Ed’s apartment slowly and Oswald sighed with relief when he was finally placed on the couch.  
“Take off your clothes, I get the first aid kit..”, Ed informed his guest and vanished into the bathroom.  
The first thing he did was washing the blood off his hands.  
He reminded himself over and over that he took somebody’s life today, but there was not an ounce of guilt inside of him.  
He looked into the mirror, but the person staring back was still him. 

Ed took a deep breath, collected the things he needed and went back to Oswald.  
He almost dropped everything when he saw his friend, who already had stripped down to his underwear.  
“Holy crap..”, he whispered and swallowed hard.  
“I know.. I’ve seen better days..”, Oswald said sadly and looked down.  
“It’s not your fault.. I’ll take care of it.”, Ed assured and knelt down next to the couch.  
He wasn’t a doctor, but he knew enough to treat Oswald’s injuries the right way. 

Recently, Oswald Cobblepot had a lot to take.   
He got beaten up many times but this was the first time someone took care of his wounds.  
He couldn’t go home and face his mother like this; she would start to worry again.

“Can I stay here for a while?”, Oswald asked, while he watched Edward dipping a washcloth into a bowl of water.  
“Sure.”, Ed replied and started cleaning his face from the blood carefully.  
“It’s just.. I don’t want my mom to see me like this.”  
“Yeah, she better not. But give her a call.”  
“Those fuckers tossed my phone into the river..”  
“You can use mine later, but let me finish this first, okay?”, Ed tried to manage a smile and placed his mobile phone on the table next to him.  
Oswald nodded.  
He endured Ed’s procedure calmly and if it wouldn’t hurt so badly now and then, he would actually enjoy it.  
His friend was so careful and gentle and after what happened earlier, it felt so good to be treated this way.  
“You will be fine, you just need some rest..”, Ed assured and gave him two pills and a glass of water, after he finished his treatment.   
“Painkillers.”, he explained as an answer to Oswald’s questioning look.  
“Thank you..”, he said and changed into a sitting position before he swallowed the pills.  
Edward wrapped him into a blanket and smiled.  
“I could use some chai-tea.. do you like some?”, he asked and Oswald nodded after thinking about it for a few seconds.   
“Or do you want anything else? Coffee? Juice?”   
“No, no. Chai-tea sounds perfect. I don’t like coffee anyway.”, Oswald managed a little smile.  
“Be right back!”, Ed said cheerfully and hurried into his small kitchen.

His smile vanished the moment he turned away from Oswald and after he had closed the door behind him, he needed to take a few deep breaths.   
Inside, he was about to explode.  
Seeing his friend being hurt like this made him sad and sick and angry at the same time.  
Ed didn’t care if Oswald might have deserved it for whatever he had done to anyone; he loved that little man with all his heart.  
He loved him.. He loved him so much, that he had killed for him...

Edward turned around and tore the door open as he saw Oswald already standing there, still wrapped into the blanket, his mouth opened to say something.  
Ed stopped and stared at his friend helplessly; he even looked smaller without his usual clothes and covered with patches.

Oswald hesitated at first but then he finally found the strength to say the words right into Edward’s face.  
“I.. I love you..”, he shrugged and tried to smile, but that wasn’t so easy while he was fighting back tears.

“And I love you!”, Ed replied promptly, waving his hands awkwardly around, not knowing how to handle this situation.

“Then..kiss me?”, Oswald suggested shyly and Ed took a step forward.  
“I don’t want to reopen your wound..”, he said, caressing Oswald’s lips with his thumb.

“I..honestly don’t care.. just.. don’t make me beg for this.”  
“No..NO! That wasn’t my intention, I just..”  
“Ed..”, Oswald interrupted impatiently.   
“I’m sorry..”, he whispered, finally bending over to seal their love confession with a careful kiss.  
“I love you so much…”, he breathed against Oswald’s lips and felt the other man smile.  
Hearing those words from a human being that wasn’t his mother meant the world to him.

“So.. you and me it is then.. right, dear friend?”  
“If I am good enough for you..?”  
“Shut up, silly.. You are smart, beautiful and loyal, that’s far more than I have ever expected to happen to me..”  
“I’m not smart, I’m brilliant.”, Ed corrected and Oswald let out a chuckle.  
“That’s how I like you.”  
“And I like you healthy, so please go back to the couch and take some rest. You can make your calls while I prepare the tea.”

Oswald nodded and hobbled back to the couch.  
He knew Ed was right; he really needed to recover from this injuries.  
Though he wouldn’t admit it, he also really loved to be pampered.   
His mother did it his whole life and kind of taught him that that’s the right way for him to be treated.  
People outside of his home never agreed…  
That was one more proof that Ed really cared about him as a person and not just some kind of tool.

Slowly realizing what just happened, Ed ran his fingers through his hair and let out a joyful noise, before he started making the tea.  
He left the door open and could hear Oswald talk on the phone.  
It was funny how his voice changed, depending on whom he was talking to.  
He assured his mother, that he just wanted to stay with his boyfriend for a while, talked to someone to take care of the club tomorrow and in another call he explained the attack on him to somebody.  
While the talk he got more and more aggressive, but the moment Ed appeared in the living room, with two mugs in his hands, Oswald lowered his voice.

“I’ll call you back tomorrow. Like I said, I’m staying at a friend’s house until I feel better. Guess what, I have!”, he hissed before he finally hung up.

Ed sat down next to his friend but didn’t say anything and waited for Oswald to calm down by himself.  
It didn’t take long until the smaller man picked up the mug and took a sip of the good smelling tea.  
“It always helps me to relax.”, Ed said with a sweet smile and Oswald smiled back.  
“I understand why.”, he agreed and leaned back.  
He was exhausted and the painkillers slowly made him tired.  
“I wish the circumstances would be different, but I am glad that you’re here..”, Ed confessed, “I really missed you..”  
“It won’t happen again. We will find a way to meet more often. I want you with me officially as soon as I am out of danger..”

“Sounds like you already have a plan.”, Ed said curiously and looked at Oswald.  
“I have. Don’t worry my friend; things are going to change very soon.”  
“Can I help?”  
“No. I need you to stay out of this. If you get hurt because of me, I would never forgive myself.. There are a lot of people out there who want to see me dead. If anyone finds out that hurting you would be the way to hurt me most..”  
“They won’t.”, Ed interrupted, “I am still with the GCPD. Attacking me would be kind of ..attacking the law. Wouldn’t it?”, he smiled and Oswald sighed.  
“Maybe you’re right..”  
“Maybe?”  
“Okay, okay. You’re right.”, Oswald smiled and closed his eyes.

Ed could see how exhausted his friend was and stood up to get some pajamas for him.  
“Were are you going?”, Oswald mumbled sleepily, but Ed already came back.  
“Time to sleep.”, he decided and took the mug out of his hands to help him get dressed for the night.  
The painkillers he gave him were really strong, slowly turning him into some kind of sleepy doll.  
Without thinking about it twice, he picked Oswald up and carried him to the bedroom.  
“Never..do that in public..”, Oswald’s voice was thin, his eyes still closed.  
“I promise.”, Ed smiled and placed him down on the bed carefully.

He hurried to change clothes himself and switched off the light before he slipped under the blanket and snuggled up against his friend.   
“But..if I can’t help you, what am I then?”, he asked quietly and felt Oswald rolling over, crawling into his arms.  
“My safety blanket..”, he breathed against Ed’s neck, before he finally fell asleep.

 

 

***

 

 


	12. Love conquers all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald suffers from self-doubt while Ed..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys~
> 
> This time a shorter chapter, I hope you don't mind~ have a nice weekend =)

 

 

 

*** 12 ***

 

 

 

It was almost noon, when Oswald Cobblepot slowly woke up.  
Wrapped into soft blankets, surrounded by the scent of his boyfriend, -which was becoming more and more familiar-, he felt good and comfortable, though his body was aching.  
He remembered the first time he woke up in this bed, but this time there was no reason to run.  
This was a place where he belonged now, a place where he was welcome and appreciated.  
But something was different from the last time...  
Oswald rolled over and opened his eyes.  
Instead of a sweet Edward Nygma next to him, there was a note.  
He grabbed the paper and read:

“?What is too sweet when asleep, too dangerous when conscious and too precious to not be loved?”

Oswald smiled over this poetic masterpiece and whispered: “I love you too..”

He forced himself out of bed and hobbled into the kitchen.  
The first thing he saw was a tea pot with a posted on it, next to a mug.  
“Good morning.”, was written on the green paper.  
Oswald toddled to the fridge to get the milk, as he found another posted.  
“Don’t look into the freezer compartment unless you want body-parts for breakfast. Don’t ask.”  
He grinned and decided not to find out if it was a joke or true, because he was sure he already knew the answer.

While he was enjoying his breakfast tea, he looked around and noticed some really weird stuff lying around here and there.  
Obviously his friend had some very interesting and rare hobbies.  
Oswald was too well educated to snoop around in his boyfriend’s private stuff though; he would ask him to show him everything on occasion.  
He was pretty sure Ed wouldn’t keep any secrets from him.

After he finished his tea, he limped into the bathroom.  
It was a small room with a shower and lots of stuff, but everything was well sorted and clean.  
Oswald looked into the mirror and starred at his terrible reflection for a while.  
Yes, he looked bad, but the wounds would heal and vanish after some time.  
Then there would still be his face.  
This ugly, disgusting face only a mother could love.  
He touched the scabbing wound on his lip carefully and then he looked at his teeth.  
In this light they looked even more yellowish and he was wondering how in the world anyone could bring himself to kiss him with such passion as Edward Nygma did.  
Someone as beautiful as him..  
When Ed was looking at him with his kind, brown eyes, he felt lovable..  
He believed him, there was no doubt, but deep inside he knew he would never understand why.  
Oswald looked down in the sink and turned on the water, watching it drain away in the plug hole.  
Usually he avoided spending too much time looking at himself.  
All his life he got bullied for the way he looked and now there was this wonderful guy who just saw him as a beautiful human being..  
No, he saw him as the person he really was and that was enough for Ed to fall in love with him..

Oswald washed his hands about three times before he gave up.  
They would always look like he just crawled out of a grave.  
The dirty stain of his fingernails just happened over the years and he got used to it.  
It didn’t matter anyway but now it kind of mattered.  
On the other hand… Ed didn’t seem to care..  
Oswald was like this when they met for the first time and his look never scared him away.  
Not his look, nor his limp; not even the person he became over the years.

“I’m not alone anymore…”, Oswald said to himself and started giggling.  
“He loves me.”, his giggling turned into sardonic laughter.  
This was to all the motherfuckers who pushed him around all his life, spitting on him and making him believe he was nothing more but a piece of shit, not worth being loved or respected or even liked.

He looked into the mirror again and said: “I am Oswald Cobblepot. And love… love conquers all.”

 

***

 

“WHERE IS NYGMA??”, Harvey Bullock bawled through the GCPD building.  
“Calm down, Harv ..we will find him.”, Jim Gordon assured, but his face told how concerned he already was.  
“Really? Did anyone see him today? We have a dead body out there waiting for observation and our forensic scientist is nowhere to find. How I love my job!!”

“What’s going on?”, a female voice interrupted.  
“Oh, Leslie, good to see you… Have you by chance seen Ed Nygma today?”, Jim asked his girlfriend, but she shook her head.  
“No.. I sometimes let him play around in my area but today he didn’t show up. What is…kind of weird actually..”, she said with a worried smile.  
“Have you guys tried calling him?”  
“No.. you?”, Jim looked at his partner, who really tried to stay calm.  
“No. Anyone call Nygma, please, or..”  
“I’ll do it. I feel like we have some kind of connection so if he’s in trouble, I’ll fix it.”, Leslie assured with a cheerful smile and Jim thanked god once more for sending him this wonderful woman.

She picked out her phone and looked for Nygma’s number, while Jim and Harvey were waiting impatiently.  
“Mailbox..”, she said after a while and shrugged.  
Harvey snorted angrily and said: “Try again!”

 

***

 

Oswald sat on the couch and switched through the TV-channels.  
He decided to put on his suit, because he felt more comfortable in it and his mood was to go out, but he had to rest and couldn’t be more bored than in this moment.  
He couldn’t even make calls because Ed took his mobile phone to work, of course.

Oswald sighed and considered to go out for a walk, but he better not be seen around here so what could he do until Ed would be back..  
He chose to think about what he _could_ do with Ed later instead and a smile appeared on his face.  
Physically he wasn’t in the condition for much action, but thinking of being close to him, kissing him, touching him..  
A ringtone, outside in the hallway, disturbed his daydream and Oswald turned his head slowly to the door.  
He couldn’t hear anyone, no steps or other noises.  
The funny melody stopped abruptly and he exhaled.

Still suspicious of what was going on in front of the door, he stood up and moved closer as quiet as possible.  
When he reached the door, suddenly the ringtone started again and made him almost jump out of surprise.  
“What the hell..”, he whispered to himself, grabbed an empty vase as a weapon and tore open the door.  
The hallway was empty..  
“Helloo?”, he called and then looked down where he located the melody.  
There was a huge envelope lying to his feet, ringing and vibrating, with nothing written on it except one word; Penguin.  
A chill ran through his spine and he picked it up with shaky hands.  
“This is not good..”, he mumbled with racing heartbeat and as he looked inside, he almost fainted.

 

 

***

 

 


	13. A private talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald seeks for help at the GCPD.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy sunday everyone!! Because I was so happy about the comments and the last chap was so short, I hurried with the next one =) enjoy and have a nice rest-weekend~ <3

 

 

 

*** 13 ***

 

 

 

 

Oswald was sitting on the couch, the envelope on his lap, staring at the things that were hidden inside.  
It was Edward’s mobile phone and his glasses, one lens was cracked and the other smudged with blood.  
Oswald felt dead inside for a moment, he didn’t know what to do..  
He grabbed the mobile phone apathetically and read on the display that Ed had 5 new messages on his mailbox, so he just decided to check them.

“Message one: “GET YOUR TINY ASS TO WORK NOW, OR YOU CAN CONSIDER YOURSELF FIRED.”

That was Detective Bullock’s voice, Oswald thought, and hearing that his boyfriend didn’t make it to the GCPD today frightened him even more.

“Message two: “Answer your damn phone Nygma, I’m warning you..” –Again Harvey Bullock.

“Message three: “Ed, it’s Jim, we really need you here so whatever it is, call me back.”

Oswald rolled his eyes. 

“Message four: “Hi Ed, it’s Leslie Thompkins. We are worrying about you so wherever you are, just let us know if you’re alright. Bye.”

“Message five: “Penguin. You better listen carefully…”

Oswald straightened himself up and held his breath while he was listening to the dark, computer changed voice.

“You have 48 hours. One million dollars in cash, if you want your sweetheart back in one piece. Wait for my call.”

There it was.. The proof that someone took Ed from him for blackmail.  
Oswald’s body was trembling; there was no way to get that amount of money in that short time.  
Not on his own in his current position and he couldn’t ask Falcone..  
‘Attacking me would be like attacking the law, wouldn’t it?’  
Ed’s voice echoed in his head and he jumped up.

He looked for some spare keys to the apartment, but there were only car keys in the bowl next to the door.  
That was better than nothing; he could easily break into Ed’s apartment later, now he just had to find his car.

 

“What if something happened to him?” Jim said while he walked up and down.  
“He is not answering the phone, but it’s not off battery..”  
“I think you’re right.. he is a weirdo, but he is good in doing his job. He never missed a day or was too late..” Harvey said.  
“Except last week.. he has changed somehow and I still think it’s a girl.” Jim said and turned his head to the entrance, where a too familiar figure appeared.  
“Must be hell of a girl if she’s able to stand Nygma..”  
“Oh no.. not him again..” Jim groaned and Harvey looked into the same direction.  
“Look, it’s your little BFF..” he grinned.  
“He is not.. would you not??”, Jim asked politely and watched Cobblepot coming closer.

He looked different and not just because he was obviously injured. He looked terrified, broken..

“Jim..old friend.. I might need your help..” he said, trying to appear decisive but his voice was thin and shaky.

“I don’t have time for you right now, Penguin. Also I told you not to come here again!!” Jim hissed.

“Please.. can we have a talk in private? I..It is important..” he stuttered and looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Jim.” Leslie interrupted excitedly, “Someone saw Nygma’s car driving by, I call him again that he has to come here right now!”  
Oswald tried to say something, but it was already too late.  
The mobile phone in his right hand started ringing and all eyes were suddenly on him.  
“He.. he won’t come..” Oswald breathed, fighting back tears.  
Jim noticed the broken glasses Penguin held in his clenched hand, his eyes widening.

“Let me explain..” he started, but Jim grabbed him by his collar, dragged him to the closest empty office and dashed him against the wall.  
He didn’t even care that Penguin was screaming out in pain because of his injuries, he had something to do with Ed’s disappearance and that meant real trouble.

“EXPLAIN!” he yelled and Oswald raised his arms to protect himself.

“Jim, calm down..” Leslie touched his shoulder gently, “Can’t you see he’s already a wreck..” she pointed at the crouched, shaking figure on the floor.  
“I don’t care what he is, he knows something about Ed and I swear to god ..”  
“And he came here to tell you.”

“And I can’t wait to hear his story..” Harvey added and closed the door behind him.

“I..I’d rather talk to Jim in private..” Oswald mumbled, while he tried to get back on his feet.

“Well, this is as private as you get.” Harvey said with a cynical smile and sat down on the desk.

Oswald looked around, three pairs of eyes focused on him, waiting for him to start.  
He cleared his throat.

“Yesterday, I got into a fight.. I almost died.. It was Nygma who saved my life and took me home for shelter. He took care of my injuries and let me stay overnight to recover. He is such a good man.” Oswald smiled genuinely, his eyes filled with tears.  
“When I was about to leave at noon, this envelope was lying in front of the door, containing his glasses and mobile phone with a message on it that they want one million dollars or they are going to kill him.”  
Oswald’s hands started shaking again; he wasn’t able to look into anyone’s eyes any longer.

He didn’t want to tell the whole truth, being in love was their private treasure and he just hoped this would be enough for the GCPD to take over from here.

“Why would you be willing to pay such an amount of money for Edward Nygma?” Jim asked warily.  
“I..I wouldn’t. It was a big misunderstanding.. Someone must have seen us together and got the idea he was important to me.” Oswald forced a laughter.  
“But you care, don’t you?” Leslie asked and got a glance from Harvey.  
She actually shouldn’t be here, but she liked Edward Nygma and wanted to help finding a solution for getting him back as soon as possible.

“Well.. he saved my life. I owe him, right?” Oswald explained, but his facade already started to crumble.  
“I have 48 hours.. There is no way to get the money, I’m under Falcone’s thumb and he won't even pay half of that to save my life, so why would he pay anything for a casual acquaintance.. I.. sorry, I might need some fresh air..”  
Oswald suddenly wasn’t able to breathe anymore, this was all too much.  
All he wanted was having his love back and safe and thinking about how scared he must be at the moment and how people probably hurt him…

“How about we go out for a little walk and you guys try to find out if it is possible to track the call?” Leslie suggested and Jim pulled her aside.  
“What are you doing??” he hissed.  
“Woman’s intuition.” she smiled and winked at her boyfriend.  
Jim rolled his eyes. He knew it was impossible to win if Leslie had an idea.  
“Be careful, he is dangerous..” he whispered.  
“He is scared and heartbroken..” she whispered back, “Trust me.”

Oswald handed over the phone but refused to give away the glasses.  
Leslie laid a hand on his back and escorted the little man out of the building.  
“You look like a real doctor should check on you.” she said to start a conversation.  
“I’m fine..” Oswald said quietly and took a deep breath when they were outside the building.  
They walked a few meters in silence but then he suddenly kicked a trash can away and started screaming.  
He buried his face in his hands and went down on his knees, sobbing uncontrollably.  
Leslie knelt down next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder.  
“DON’T TOUCH ME!”Oswald yelled through tears and she flinched but didn’t let him scare her away.  
“We will find him, alive! He needs you to be strong and focused now. We both know it wasn’t a misunderstanding and you are the key to the kidnappers so pull yourself together!”

Oswald wiped away his tears and looked at her intensely.  
He didn’t know why, but somehow he felt sympathy for this woman.  
She probably would be the key to make Jim Gordon stop mistreating him in this situation and he felt like having her on his side in this matter could be of great importance.

“You must be Leslie Thompkins?”  
She looked at him with a baffled expression.  
“I.. remembered your voice from the voicemail. You sounded like you’re really worried about Edward and I appreciate that.”  
“Do you?” she smiled.  
“I get the feeling he actually is worth that amount of money to you, right?”

“Wrong. To me, he is invaluable.”

 

 

***

 

 


	14. The call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald teams up with the GCPD to get Ed back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!! Sorry for letting you wait, sometimes I need a little break and I had an idea how to extend this story and how to give it the opportunity for a sequel so I had to think the storyline through and I hope I won`t mess it up but first, the next chapter =) Enjoy <3

 

 

*** 14 ***

 

 

 

“Why did you come up with that story?”, Leslie Thompkins asked right away.  
Oswald looked into her eyes.  
They were kind but with a certain spark that made him feel that this woman was no one to fool, but she was a woman with sympathy for Ed and he knew exactly what cards he had to play to win her sympathy for him as well.  
He just had to be careful.

“It was because of Detective Gordon and Bullock. They wouldn’t understand.. They would make fun of us and I.. I can’t handle that right now..”, Oswald started, sounding desperate.  
“Also I don’t want Ed to get into trouble.. Our jobs have nothing to do with our relationship. We met incidentally and it just happened. And now he is in danger because of me, I never wanted that.. I’d never forgive myself if..”, he couldn’t continue and turned away from her to hide his tears.  
He planned to play this to make her feel sorry for him but his emotions were real and he felt vulnerable but angry and there was no way to breathe..

Leslie just listened to him and wanted to say something but Oswald kept talking.  
“I didn’t make that story up, it all happened like that. I just didn’t mention that he actually is more than just a friend. Of course I went to his home after I almost died and waited for him to return from work. Someone must have followed me and saw us kissing on the street before we went in. Please don’t tell anyone, it’s hard enough for Ed to get along with others, if people would know that he is with me, then..”  
“Then what?”  
Oswald laughed sarcastically.  
“Look at me.. I’m far from being boyfriend material..”  
Leslie managed a cheerful smile.  
“I am sure Edward has his reasons why he chose you and it is good to know that he has someone who loves him. You aren’t together for very long, right?”  
Oswald glanced at her.  
“No.. does that matter?”  
Leslie shook her head, still smiling.  
“I noticed that he had changed lately. Glistening eyes, daydreaming… There were rumors he finally found a girlfriend… But it doesn’t matter who makes him happy, as long as..”  
“I just want him back..”, Oswald interrupted, “I never loved someone like this before and no one ever loved me.”, he hissed through gritted teeth, pressed his lips together and stood up to hurry back as fast as he could.  
He had enough of sharing emotions with a stranger and his patience was about to snap.  
A picture of a happy Ed, daydreaming at work while thinking of nothing else but him came to his mind and knowing that this was not happening right now and his friend was scared and alone with people who wanted to hurt him, broke his heart once more.

Leslie Thompkins watched the small man hobble back to the main entrance.  
Her first impression was right; the so called “Penguin” didn’t come here to cause trouble, he came to save his loved one.  
Jim hadn’t told her the whole story, but she knew about his twisted relationship with Oswald Cobblepot.  
She knew he wasn’t a good guy but somehow she believed that his bond with Ed Nygma based on love and all that mattered now was saving the young, enthusiastic forensic scientist who came to her so often to use her room for several experiments.  
He was kind of special indeed, but she liked him and she didn’t want to imagine what he was going through at the moment.  
Leslie waited until the Penguin vanished inside the building before she followed him.

Oswald walked back to the room where Jim Gordon forced him to go before and both detectives were still there with some guy who connected the mobile phone to a machine with a computer screen.  
“No good news, I guess?”, Oswald said dryly as he looked into the still concerned looking faces.

Jim straightened himself and walked closer to his little “friend”.  
“Where is Dr. Thompkins?”, he asked with a forced smile, but Leslie just entered the room.  
“Right here.”, she smiled and Jim exhaled with relief.  
“What did you find out?”  
“Nothing yet.. The call didn’t come from a mobile phone but the caller said he will call again, so we are waiting now and try to track him.” Jim explained.  
“Wait, all we do now is waiting for a call?? You know they want the money ready when they call, I don’t have the money.”, Oswald said, slightly panicking.  
“You have a better idea to get your sweetheart back, Penguin?”, Harvey asked, chilling on a chair with a smirk on his lips he just wasn’t able to hide.  
Oswald swallowed and looked at the older man.  
“You think this is funny, Detective Bullock?”, he spitted, “Ed is one of yours. He is in serious danger and you’re still laughing?”  
“He’s got a point there.”, Leslie added.  
“Is he? Or did he become one of yours?”, Harvey asked in return, his expression turning serious.  
Oswald took a deep breath.  
“He’s mine.. not one of mine.”, he finally confessed because he didn’t want to deny any longer that he loved this man with all his heart.  
“Ed has nothing to do with my business. He became part of my private life and yes, I can separate that. Also, yes Detective, I have a better idea. When I first pointed out my worries that something like this could happen if people would find out that he is important to me, Ed said nothing would happen to him because he is still with the GCPD. If you consider this an open attack to the law in public and the kidnappers are stupid noobs, it could work.”  
Gordon walked up and down for a while and nodded.  
“It is worth a try.. At least we could force a reaction that might give us a hint.”, he said and Oswald nodded.  
“Okay, now we have a plan, back to the funny side.”, Harvey smiled wryly, “So you are Nygma’s girlfriend? Told you, Jim, must be hell of a girl.”  
Oswald snorted angrily and was about to jump on the other man, but Jim was able to hold him back though he was fighting against it.”  
“Easy, Penguin.”, he said, “This is not helping.. That also counts for you Harv.”  
Oswald wasn’t able to free himself from Jim’s strong grip so he decided killing Bullock with his looks instead.  
“Do you have a loved one?”, he hissed and the smile on Harvey’s face vanished. “Too bad.”, Oswald snarled and managed a bitter smile.  
“You know Detective, I might not deserve love, but he does. He is a good man! And if my love is good enough for him, then I am blessed.”, his burning eyes were fixed on Bullock who just opened his mouth to reply something as Jim interrupted.  
“Enough now, everyone out, I want to to have a word in private with Penguin.”, he ordered and waited until they were alone and the door was shut before he let go of the smaller man.

“What is it, old friend?”, Oswald asked with an innocent smile but Jim wasn’t smiling back.  
“About a week ago, I caught Ed in the files room in the middle of the night..”, he started.  
“Always working so hard..”, Oswald nodded and Jim let out a snort.  
“Have you been with him that night? Did he let you snoop around? And don’t lie to me!”  
“Jim..”, Oswald sighed, “Of course not. He loves his job and I am not going to risk any trouble for him.”  
“He said his date dumped him..”  
“I didn’t dump him, I had urgent business. I called him back later and we spent a wonderful night together at my home, do you want details?”, Oswald smiled and Jim shook his head.  
“No, thank you.”  
“You can ask my mother. She was still awake and I introduced Ed to her that night. Our first official date.. We didn’t meet again after that until I got beaten up yesterday.. I shouldn’t have gone to see him.. ”, his voice suddenly broke and he turned away from Jim.  
Gordon didn’t know what to do, he knew Penguin as whiny, ruthless bastard but this was new and he wasn’t sure if it was real or just well-played.  
“Jim? I have a request..”, Oswald said with a thin voice, still not looking at Gordon, “Can we forget who we are just for once and focus on saving him? He is the only friend I have.. I love him.. I’m not lying.. I know I should break up with him to keep him safe but.. I can’t …I know it’s selfish.. I.. I can’t lose him..”

Jim sighed. He could hear Oswald snivel silently and his shoulders were shaking.

“Aren’t his riddles kind of..freaking you out?”, he asked eventually and Oswald slowly turned around, blinking at him.  
“What?”, he stammered and watched Gordon grab a tissue box from the desk, handing it over.  
Oswald took the box and pulled out one to dry his tears before he was able to answer.  
“No.. not at all.. Riddles make him happy and I actually enjoy seeing him happy and excited about things. Then he has this spark in his eyes.. It might sound weird, I know.. I..”  
“No. It’s not weird. You..really.. love him.”, Jim said and sounded more like he was trying to convince himself that Oswald Cobblepot was in love with Edward Nygma.  
“I do.”, Oswald nodded, “He is the one, I guess..”, he shrugged and smiled helplessly.  
“Look at us, Jim. Talking like old friends..”, Oswald smiled but Jim raised his hand.  
“We are no friends..”, he said and Oswald’s expression froze.  
“You really should overthink that, Jim. Sooner or later you’ll need a friend like me. You..”

The ringtone of Ed’s mobile phone interrupted and both men froze for a second.  
Jim jumped up to call everyone back into the room.  
The assistant hurried to get the tracking ready and nodded as a sign that Oswald could answer the call now.  
He pushed the loudspeaker button and everyone around him seemed to have stopped breathing.  
“Hello?”, he asked nervously and it was the same voice, changed by a computer, who answered immediately.  
“Hello Penguin. How’s it going? You got my message?”  
“Yes. I already made arrangements. You will get the money in time. But first, I need proof that my friend is still alive.”, he said as calm as possible, though he was about to explode.  
“Here you go.”, the voice said and in the next moment he could hear someone scream in the background. It was Ed, he would always recognize his voice..  
“Don’t touch him..”, he warned fiercely but again he heard his friend cry of pain.  
“DON’T TOUCH HIM!!”, Oswald yelled but the answer was another scream.  
“STOP IT OR I SWEAR TO GOD, I’LL SKIN YOU ALIVE!!!”, he screamed furiously and felt tears burning in his eyes.  
“2 Million.”, was the last thing he heard before the call was ended and the sound of the dead line made him go berserk.  
“COME BACK!! COME BACK YOU SON OF A BITCH!”, he yelled and was about to tear apart the desk, but Jim wrapped his arms around him to keep him from raging.  
“It’s okay, Oswald.. calm down…there was nothing more you could have done..”, he said calmly and tried to hold the small man still.  
“NO! LET GO OF ME!”, Oswald kept screaming until he finally broke.  
Jim felt him giving up resistance but still hold the now sobbing Penguin in his arms.  
“It’s okay..”, he repeated over and over, looking at his girlfriend, then at his partner to seek for assistance but they just gestured that he was doing fine with the situation.  
“No..”, Oswald whined, “No it’s not..”  
He turned around, let himself fall into the embrace and just cried on Jim Gordon’s shoulder.  
He didn’t even care anymore. Ed’s screams echoed in his head and he just couldn’t stand it any longer.  
Jim looked a bit over challenged with a crying Oswald Cobblepot in his arms and patted his back.

“I’ll get him some downers..”, Leslie said and Jim shook his head, his eyes wide open, trying to signalize that she can’t leave him alone right now.  
“I’ll get him… a blanket.. or something..”, Harvey added and followed Leslie.  
Jim rolled his eyes and prayed for this day to be over soon.

 

 

***

 

 


	15. Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed's rescue becomes priority and everyone tries to get along as good as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise, I bring Ed back soon =) I hope you enjoy the new chapter =)

 

 

 

*** 15 ***

 

 

 

Oswald was sitting in the corner of the room, wrapped into a safety blanket and thanks to Leslie Thompkins’s medication, he was calm. Not happy, but calm and slowly getting tired.  
The phone call was not able to be tracked, but some specialist managed to clear the caller’s voice and just played the recorded call once more.  
“Do you recognize the voice?”, Jim asked, but Oswald shook his head.  
“Can you play it again?”, he asked dryly and listened very carefully.  
He didn’t know who that was, but he would remember his voice. He would burn it into his mind and he would find that bastard. Whoever did this, he would pay for laying hands on his love.  
“You sure?”, Harvey asked and Oswald sighed.  
“No, I don’t know that voice..” he looked down to the glasses in his hands; a little piece of Ed and a proof that they already hurt him more than he was able to handle.  
He let his fingertips wander over the frame gently, as if Ed could feel it.

Leslie sat down next to him.  
“Can I borrow that for a while?”, she asked carefully but Oswald didn’t react.  
“I just want to check them for fingerprints and if that is really all Ed’s blood on it.”, she explained, “I will give it back to you as soon as I have the samples..”  
He looked up at her, his eyes tired, and just handed it over.  
“I’ll take good care of it, I promise.”, she smiled and left the room, but not without giving Jim a kiss on the cheek as she walked by.  
Jim watched her go with a little smile and then he walked to Oswald.  
“It’s too soon for the announcement, we are now going to his apartment to check if he is alright because officially we don’t know yet that he got kidnapped. Just to keep it realistic in case there is someone spying on his home.”, he explained the next steps and Oswald nodded.  
He wished he could go with them but he knew that would be stupid, so he just said nothing and hoped they wouldn’t see the posted on the fridge.

“You stay here just in case they call again. Just try to keep him on the phone as long as possible, that’s what you can do best, anyway.”, Jim said with a dry smile and again Oswald just nodded, staring at a random point in the room.  
Jim sighed. Oswald Cobblepot was no one he liked to have around but it was easier to hate him when he wasn’t like this.  
Terrified of losing someone Jim also preferred to be safe and unharmed.

“Oswald..”, Jim said and the other man finally managed to look up at him.  
“We will get him back. It is priority now and I will do everything I can. I won’t give up until we have him back here freaking us out with his damn riddles again, I promise.”  
Oswald nodded, his face blank like a mask, his eyes empty.  
Jim tried to manage a cheerful smile and left the room.

About 30 minutes later, Leslie Thompkins returned and as promised, she gave Oswald the glasses back.  
“Did you find something?”, he asked as she sat down next to him.  
“Tests are running.”, she replied. “Usually Ed does that work so it’s a little bit unorganized now..”  
“I see. May I ask you a question?”, he asked without looking at her.”  
“Sure.”, she smiled.  
“If we get him back.. I should break up with him, right? That would be for the best..”  
“No you shouldn’t”, she said and Oswald looked at her.  
“I know this situation. Jim tried to keep me away from whatever trouble he is in but that is not right. You can’t let others take control over your relationship. If you do, you let them win. If you love each other, the only right thing to do is being together, no matter what.”  
“I don’t want him to get hurt. I don’t know what to do, I never had a relationship like this before..”  
“Well, I think you’re doing fine so far. You are here fighting for him.. You’re not the one hurting him, but you will when you give up and leave him. Remember that he is happier with you in his life, no matter what others do to him.”  
“Thank you.”, Oswald gave her a sad smile, “I will remember that.”

About an hour later, Gordon and Bullock returned to the GCPD.  
Because there was not much to find at Ed Nygma’s home, they decided to get some lunch.  
Harvey was already eating, while Jim had too much to carry to get a chance for a bite.  
He placed the bag and plate with three more cardboard cups of coffee on the desk and was relieved to see that Lee still had a smile on her face and Penguin was still in the corner and didn’t seem to have moved a lot.  
“Any news?”, he asked, as she stood up to come to him.  
“Not much.. No fingerprints on the glasses except his”, she pointed at Oswald, “Also the blood is Ed’s, as expected.”  
Jim nodded.  
“Did he cause any trouble?”, he asked with a low voice, his eyes glancing at Oswald.  
Leslie shook her head. “Good as gold so far. You don’t have to worry. All he cares about right now is Edward.”  
“I wish it would be less weird.”  
“Stop it. It’s not weird.”, she replied in a flirty way and poked his arm playfully.  
“They love each other.”  
“Yeah, please don’t mention that.. They both are weird enough alone, now imagine them together.”, he whispered.  
“Not to mention what it could mean for the GCPD that one of our most important men is in a relationship with Cobblepot..”  
“I believe him.”, Leslie said, “I think Ed will keep behaving responsibly in his job.”  
“As responsibly as always.. Too bad that we actually need him..”  
“I like him.. and you do, too.”, Leslie smiled.  
“Whatever.. want some coffee?”  
“Yes please!”, her smile became brighter and Jim smiled back at her, wondering how he ever survived without having this woman by his side.  
While she picked a coffee cup, he went to Oswald.

“We brought coffee and sandwiches, If you want some?”, he said and the other man looked up.  
“I’m not hungry..”  
“When was the last time you ate something? You’re no help if you starve yourself. Get at least some coffee.”  
Oswald straightened up and faked a smile.  
“Suddenly so worried about me, old friend. Thank you, but I don’t like coffee.”  
His smile vanished as he remembered the tea Ed had prepared for him this morning.  
He didn’t even had a chance to say good bye..  
The first time he woke up in Ed’s arms, he wanted to escape as fast as possible, though he felt so comfortable..  
What if he would never ..ever..

“When will you do the announcement? How are you going to do it?”, Oswald asked to distract himself from his own thinking.  
“We thought we’ll pretend that we found his glasses in the apartment so we can assume something happened to him. Tomorrow morning, that should be enough time. Now it’s still too early..”  
“Sure. They can’t know I took them with me.. Did you leave it open? His apartment, I mean..”  
“No. We didn’t even go inside.. You don’t have a key?”  
Oswald shook his head.  
“Of course not.. All I could find was his car keys.. Guess that’s where I will sleep tonight..”  
“You don’t wanna go home and take some rest?”  
“No. I don’t want my mother to see me like this. She’ll worry.”  
Jim nodded.  
“You better stay here, we all will.”, he added.  
“We do what?”, Harvey mumbled while he was chewing.  
“You can go home if you want. I need someone to track the call, if there is another, Penguin to answer it and ..”  
“Me to keep you guys from killing each other.”, Leslie said with a smile and Jim sighed.  
“You don’t have to stay.”, he said, “You already did enough.”  
“I won’t be able to sleep anyway.”, she assured.  
“I will stay, too. Don’t wanna miss any of this.”, Harvey grinned and Oswald rolled with his eyes.  
He was too exhausted to reply to this, though.  
He needed all his energy to stay strong now so he stood up eventually to get one of the sandwiches and his coffee.

 

The hours went by slowly and nothing happened.  
“Have you all considered that Penguin could be playing with us? What if he’s behind all this?”, Harvey suddenly asked and everyone looked at him with tired eyes.  
“Why?”, was the only thing that came to Oswald’s mind to reply to this.  
“I don’t know; do you need money?”  
“Why would I kidnap my own boyfriend and come here to ask for help, that doesn’t make sense.”, Oswald said tiredly but obviously annoyed.  
“Edward Nygma being your boyfriend all of a sudden, that doesn’t make sense.”, Harvey said in return.  
“No it doesn’t. But I accept this gift and I’m not going to lose it.”, Oswald hissed.

“Boys..”, Leslie warned.  
“What? Ed is useful to him because he works here. He examines the dead bodies we find, he could easily fake evidence so that would be a gift for every crime boss.. or wannabe.. in town.”  
“You’re just pissed that I took the place of your dear friend Fish.”, Oswald enjoyed how Bullock’s expression darkened.  
“Never forget how much I know, Detective Bullock.”, he said and winked at the other man.  
“Now please stop implying that Ed is just a tool for me, he is not. Think whatever you want but keep it to yourself.”  
Harvey looked at Jim.  
“Can I punch him?”, he asked but Jim shook his head with an apologizing smile.

“Can we put him behind bars then? Just for the night..”  
“Can we just remember that this is a serious situation and we are all adults?”, Leslie asked politely and Bullock snorted.  
“I didn’t start it..”, Oswald mentioned, “I’m here for Ed and nothing else.” He leaned back, crossed his arms and curled his lips.  
“It is late and we should try to get some sleep in shifts. I don’t think anything is going to happen anymore but just in case..”, Leslie suggested.  
“I’m not going to sleep in a room with him.”, Oswald said and pointed at Bullock. “Don’t want to wake up with funny permanent marker art in my face..”  
“Don’t give me ideas, Penguin..”, Harvey replied cynically and Oswald faked a smile.  
“He could sleep in Ed’s office? We wake you up if something happens.” Leslie assured and Jim looked at her.  
“I’d rather keep an eye on him..”, he said.  
“I’ll behave.”, Oswald promised sleepily.  
He really embraced the idea of getting some sleep and being alone for a while at a place where Ed was spending hours, everyday sounded just too good at the moment.  
“I’ll bring you.”, Leslie said and waited for him to stand up.  
“I take that with me..”, he grabbed the mobile phone while Leslie escorted him out. “Good night, gentlemen.”, he said half-heartedly and they left the room.

“Ed has just a small couch in his office, but I think it works for you.”, Leslie mentioned and Oswald chose to ignore the reference to his tiny figure.  
“Thank you, Dr. Thompkins. I appreciate that you suggested his place for me to rest.”  
“Since I believe you could be right about Harvey decorating your face while you sleep..”  
Oswald let out a chuckle.  
“Here we are!”, she said and opened the door for him.  
Oswald stepped into the small room and looked around.  
“Smells like him..”, he said quietly and limped to the desk, where he carefully picked up a greenish mug with a question mark on it.

Leslie watched the little man and felt tears burning in her eyes.  
“I believe you.”, she said eventually and Oswald turned around with a puzzled look on his face.  
“I believe that you are not using him. Men are always blind for the details but I can see that you honestly love him.”  
Oswald managed a little, genuine smile and nodded.  
“I’m grateful for your support. It’s hard enough not to know if I will ever see him again..”  
“You will! Now take some rest, you really need it.”  
“Yes. Good night, Dr. Thompkins.”  
“Lee is fine.”, she said with a smile.  
“Good night.. Lee.”, Oswald smiled back and watched her go.  
The moment she closed the door behind her, his smile faded.  
He put the mug back on the desk and placed the glasses next to it before he made himself as comfortable as possible on the little couch.  
He whipped the mobile phone out of his pocket and just stared at the display for a while before he decided to take a look at the picture gallery.  
What if there were more hints hidden on the phone except the one message…  
When he found the latest picture, his heart skipped a beat and he wasn’t able to breath for a moment.  
It was a selfie Ed must have taken this morning.  
It showed them both in bed, snuggled together and Oswald was obviously asleep, but with a little smile on his face.  
Ed looked into the camera, smiling the cutest smile Oswald had ever seen and he looked so happy..

-Remember that he is happier with you in his life-

Oswald hastily wiped away a tear but then realized, there was no one around anymore so he curled up into a ball and cried himself to sleep.

 

 

***


	16. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald thinks it is time to turn the tables.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody~~ I hope there aren't too much mistakes in the chapter because I am really tired but it is Gotham monday without Gotham and I just want to update NOW =D ...I reply to reviews tomorrow, I love you all!!! I hope you enjoy =)

 

 

 

*** 16 ***

 

 

 

“So we have to assume that this is a crime. If anyone has seen this man, please report to the GCPD immediately. We also consider this a massive attack to the GCPD. I repeat; our forensic scientist Edward Nygma didn’t appear at work yesterday and is nowhere to find. We found traces of violence in his apartment, so whoever you are, whatever you want..”

Oswald watched Jim Gordon talking to the public on a TV screen, holding a picture of Ed into the camera.  
This just had to work.  
After he snapped on the phone, the kidnapper wanted the double amount so this was definitely the only chance and a huge risk at the same time.  
“Please be stupid.. Please be stupid..”, Oswald repeated over and over, as suddenly Ed’s mobile phone started ringing.  
He picked up without hesitating. “Hello?”  
“Hello Penguin. I am watching the news. Do you think I am stupid?”  
It was the kidnapper and because he called directly, he obviously was.  
“What do I have to do with the news?”, Oswald asked calmly though his heart was beating fast.  
“What does your little friend have to do with the GCPD? You think I am so stupid to believe this?”  
“My little friend works for the GCPD. Too bad you didn’t ask before you kidnapped him. All I was doing was giving my best to get your damn money, what the GCPD does is none of my business but you can’t expect his non-attendance staying unnoticed. Those fools can’t solve a single case without his help.”  
Oswald didn’t know that it was actually true, but pretending was one of his strongest skills and it was time to turn the tables.  
“I can imagine they will be really angry if he wouldn’t come back unharmed.”  
“Then you better get the money fast.”  
“There is one more thing.. They are investigating me now because they found my stuff in his apartment. I can’t make a single move without their eyes on me so the deal is off, I guess.”  
Oswald couldn’t hold back sardonic laughter.  
He just loved himself for being a genius now and then.  
“You are going to regret this..”, the caller threatened but Oswald just kept laughing, slowly getting the feeling that the kidnapper was not so sure about what to do anymore.  
“No.. No, you are. What’s the use of two million dollars if you are a dead man anyway?”  
“If that’s the case, I’ll take your friend with me.”  
“Or you just let him go and we pretend that nothing has happened. How does that sound? Admit it. You lost. Better do some research the next time. Well..if there is a next time.. Depends on you. And my friend’s mobile phone is running out of charge, so don’t be mad when I don’t pick up anymore.”  
“You are going to regret this Penguin, remember my words.”  
The caller hung up and Oswald’s features hardened.  
He stared at some random point, pressed his lips together and squeezed the mobile phone in his hand until it was about to break, but then he remembered that this was Ed’s, so he loosened his grip and sighed.  
He looked at the selfie he saved as main background this morning, while the little symbol for battery was already blinking.  
“Please come back to me..”, he whispered as the screen turned black.

Jim entered the room with a serious expression on his face.  
“Done.”, he said, placing the enlarged photocopy of Ed Nygma’s ID picture on the desk.  
“Now we have to wait for a reaction.”  
“Already happened..”, Oswald said. “The kidnapper just called. I think he is confused and hopefully scared. The mobile phone is dead now so all we can do is wait..”  
“You didn’t tell anyone to try tracking it??”  
“There was no time. Also what else could I have done but gambling.”  
“Gambling with Nygma’s life? He must mean a lot to you.”  
Oswald jumped up, stepping closer to Jim. “Careful, old friend.”, he hissed.  
Jim raised his arms and made a face.  
Oswald took a deep breath, counting to three in his mind.  
“I think my work is done here… Can I have this?”, he pointed at the picture of Ed, curling his lips.  
“It’s yours. Where are you going?”  
Oswald took the picture and rolled it together carefully though his expression was still angry.  
He looked around and then back to Jim.  
“Business. I need a new mobile phone and check on my club. May I have a rubber band?”  
He waved with the rolled paper and Jim rolled his eyes, opened a drawer and flipped one at him.  
“Very kind. I’ll send you my new number and you call me when you got news. Have a nice day.”  
Oswald fumbled the rubber band around the paper to fix it, straightened himself and limped out of the room as graceful as he could manage.

Though his body was still aching and he didn’t have the most comfortable night, he needed to distract himself.  
There was nothing he could do now but waiting and spending one more day under the mocking words of Detective Bullock was way too much to take.  
Oswald chose to take Ed’s car; somehow it was reassuring being surrounded by things that belonged to him…  
He was sure Ed wouldn’t mind.. He was his boyfriend.. They were family now..  
Oswald placed the picture on the seat next to him and started the engine.  
He was heading for the Club first, because he was without a mobile phone for almost two days now.  
They knew that he was recovering from an attack but anyway, the club was his responsibility.  
As he turned into the street, he could see from afar that a familiar person was waiting at the front door.  
He wasn’t pleased but somehow relieved at the same time to see his mother and the closer he came, the more he could see how concerned and also confused she looked.

Oswald parked and Gertrude Kapelput recognized her son immediately.  
When he got out of the car, he wanted to say something, ask what she was doing here, send her home, but the look on her face was so full of worries, that he wasn’t able to say anything.

“I saw se news..”, she said and Oswald hurried across the street, right into her arms.  
Gertrude pulled her son into a tight embrace and just held him for a while.  
Oswald didn’t know that the honest love and care of his mother would feel so good right now and it was exactly what he needed to feel a little less lost.  
“I’m scared, mom..”, he mumbled into her soft hair, his eyes closed.  
“Poor Edward.. I can’t believe such tings happen.. He is such a good boy..”  
“And I will have him back. I just can’t lose him..”  
“Oh..Oswald..”, she said, taking his face in both hands and kissed him on the forehead. “You will, my dear.. The police will find him, I’m sure.”  
She tried to smile, but then she realized all the cuts and bruises in her sons face and her expression froze.  
“What happened tu you?”, she asked, her voice shaky.  
“I got into a fight.. I’m fine, don’t worry..”, he whispered while looking down because he couldn’t look into her eyes.  
“Se bullies again?”  
“Yes.. the bullies.. but you know what, mother?” Now he looked up, right into her eyes. “I will make Gotham a better place for us. You will see.”, he assured eagerly, with a spark of lunacy in his eyes.  
Gertrude nodded, though she didn’t really understand what he was talking about and kissed him again.

Four days later, Oswald decided to go visit the GCPD again.  
It was Lee who took the job to keep him updated every day, but there was nothing, no hint, no message, no Ed.  
Knowing the way just too well, he limped straight to Gordon’s desk and was relieved to find him there.  
“Jim..”, he said and Gordon looked up from his paperwork.  
Both men exchanged a sorrowful look and none of them was in the mood for their usual way of behaving.  
“Can’t we do anything..”, Oswald asked and Jim shrugged.  
“We already started investigating usual places like empty warehouses and similar buildings, but Gotham is big..”  
“I tried to find out if Maroni is behind this, but he isn’t. I still have good connections and there is nothing that would lead to Ed.. I have no idea who could be behind this..”, Oswald said, sounding hopeless.  
“Ed would probably figure it out..”, Jim said and Oswald managed a sad smile.  
“Seriously, I’m drowning in paperwork and cases that are leading to nowhere and it’s just about a week that he’s missing.”  
“Do you think he is still alive?”, Oswald asked quietly.  
“As long as there is no body, I believe he is.”, Jim said honestly.  
Oswald sighed and let himself sink into Bullock’s chair on the opposite of Jim’s.  
“You look awful.”, Jim pointed out and ice-blue eyes locked with his.  
Tired eyes, looking smaller, surrounded by those dark circles.  
His face was paler than usual and though his injuries were healing well, he looked like a ghost of himself.  
“I don’t sleep much.”, Oswald explained dryly.

“Detective Gordon?”, a female voice interrupted and both men looked up to the young woman.  
She reminded Oswald of Ed somehow, but what didn’t recently.  
“Miss Kringle…?”, Jim said.  
“I have the files you asked for. Also I wanted to ask if there are any news about..”, she suddenly looked down to the entrance, “Mr. Nygma..?”, she breathed and dropped all the files she was carrying.

Jim and Oswald looked into the same direction automatically and for a moment it seemed like the time stood still at the GCPD.  
There was a tall, slender man standing in the entrance, his clothes ripped and drenched with blood.  
He was barely recognizable but there was no doubt.  
Oswald jumped up and almost fell down the stairs while he hastened to the entrance.  
Edward Nygma was just standing there like a creature from a horror movie, not moving, and then suddenly he tilted forwards.  
Oswald was there just in time and caught him before he was hitting the ground.  
He went down on his knees with Ed in his arms and pulled his upper body on his lap.  
“Ed…”, he whispered, caressing his blood-streamed face with shaky hands.  
“Help… SOMEONE HELP HIM!!”, he yelled hysterical and the next moment, Leslie was by his side.  
“I already called an ambulance.”, she said breathlessly, “Ed, can you hear me?”  
Ed’s body started trembling out of a sudden and foam was starting to build up at his mouth.  
“What’s wrong with him… Lee.. DO SOMETHING!! Please…”, Oswald pleaded, “Help him…”  
Leslie checked his eyes with a pocket lamp.  
“He is drugged…or poisoned …an overreaction.. Hold his head like this, he needs to keep breathing. Come on Ed, hang on. The ambulance must be here in minutes..”  
Oswald leaned over, pressing his lips on his boyfriend’s dirty hair.  
“Breathe, Ed.. You are safe now.. everything will be alright.. just keep breathing..”, he whispered, running his fingers through his hair carefully.  
“You’re safe now..”, he repeated over and over, while tears were running down his cheeks uncontrollably.

“Stay with me…”

 

***

 


	17. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oswald is staying with Ed in the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you are going to hate me for this chapter.... I hope you enjoy it anyway =D have a nice weekend, everybody~~ <3 And shout out to the few people who are leaving comments now and then, that makes me truly happy!!! :'3

 

 

***17***

 

 

 

It was the first time Jim Gordon saw his forensic scientist together with Cobblepot.  
Knowing they were a couple was different from seeing Penguin holding his violated body tight, kissing his face, stroking his hair..  
He was relieved to see Edward Nygma back alive, though his condition was obviously critical.  
It didn’t take long until two ambulance men rushed into the building, shoving Penguin away to do first care, before they lifted Ed up with a litter to bring him to the hospital as fast as possible.  
“Please, let me come with you!!”, he heard Cobblepot saying, “I’m the only family he has!”   
Jim hated his whining way of pleading, knowing that he usually used it to save his own ass and nothing else.  
It was hard to believe he wouldn’t use Ed’s position in the GCPD for his own benefit.  
But he would think about that later, for now it was important, that Ed would recover from whatever had happened to him as soon as possible.

“He is in the best hands now.. He will be fine.”, Leslie assured as she realized her boyfriend’s worried face and squeezed his shoulder gently.  
“I want to go to the hospital, too. You want to come?”  
Jim nodded.  
“I need to know what happened to him. He is the only one who can help us find those bastards.”  
“I’m so glad he is alive..”, Leslie said quietly and wrapped her arms around Jim, who pulled her into a gentle embrace.  
When the couple reached the hospital, they found Oswald Cobblepot sitting in the hallway, next to the emergency room.  
They didn’t need to greet each other since it was only about thirty minutes ago until they met the last time.  
“Did they tell you anything yet?”, Leslie asked, sitting down next to him.  
Oswald shook his head.   
“I told them, I’m his partner in life but they won’t tell me anything..”  
“Again, how long have you two been together?”, Jim asked and Oswald looked up to him.  
“Three nights within about one week, how is that of any importance?”  
“Have you even defined your relationship yet?”, the detective kept asking, making Oswald snort.  
“Very much, yes. I didn’t put a ring on his finger yet, if that’s what you are trying to make fun of, but I can proudly say that he accepted wearing my friendship bracelet. Come on, keep spitting on the relationship we have. I don’t care.”  
“Yet?”, Leslie asked with a cute smile, trying to ease the situation a little.  
Oswald looked at her and almost smiled, but Jim wasn’t able to shut his mouth.  
“Please, don’t get married.. Just please don’t..”, he said and again Oswald’s eyes darted at him.  
“I don’t need a paper to prove our love.”, he countered.  
“But Ed seems to be a romantic..”, Leslie teased.  
“Yes, he is a hopeless romantic. I am not, ..whatever.. I wouldn’t deny him anything as long as he survives this.”   
“I will tell him later.”, Leslie winked and finally Oswald managed a little smile.  
“But I am a friend of traditions, so ..who knows what’s going to happen in the future.”, he shrugged with a chuckle.  
Jim rolled with his eyes.  
He knew exactly what his girlfriend was doing there, but he needed Ed Nygma at the GCPD and he just wasn’t sure if he could keep trusting him if he was with Cobblepot. 

“I’ll go try to find something out. They can’t keep important information from the law.”, Gordon said and went looking for a doctor.

“So that’s the story behind the mysterious bracelet.”, Leslie smiled and Oswald looked at her, slightly confused.  
“He was always fumbling and staring at it, sometimes for minutes.. Never saw him that distracted from work before. I was wondering, because it looked like a child made it.”  
“Well.. a child made it. I mean.. I made it.. when I was a child, why are you telling my all these things?”   
“I thought you would like to know.. You two might have just met but.. he really loves you a lot already. So don’t listen to Jim.”  
“I’m not stupid. Today he told me, how much he needs Ed to work for the GCPD. He wants to have me out of the way but that won’t happen. I also know how much Ed loves the work he is doing, so please can’t you try to convince Jim, that I won’t drag Ed into my business?”, Oswald looked at Leslie with the most innocent face he could manage.  
“I will try.”, she sighed, “You have other things to worry about now.”.   
Oswald stood up.  
“That’s true. I have to know what’s going on.”  
He straightened himself and waddled into the same direction, Jim vanished before.  
It didn’t take long until he spotted the other man at the end of a hallway, talking to a white dressed stranger.  
Oswald joined the conversation without asking.  
“How is he?”, he asked right away and the Doctor gave him a questioning look.   
“He is my boyfriend, I need to know.”, he explained and the Doctor looked at Gordon, who just nodded resignedly.  
“As far as we can say, your friend has been drugged and tortured over days.. He also is dehydrated and hypoglycemic so we have to assume whoever did this, didn’t give him much to eat. Tests are running now, we need to know what drugs and how much is in his blood. At the moment, he is checked for inner injuries; all visible violations look bad, but won’t kill him. Also, there are no visible traces for sexual abuse.”  
Oswald took a deep breath and exhaled.  
“That… that sounds good, right? He’s going to survive.. He will survive, right??”  
“I am very optimistic, that he will. But he won’t be responsive for at least two days. His body is very weak at the moment and the injuries are painful, so we will put him in an artificial coma until the drugs are washed out of his blood and he’s got a little strength back. He lost a lot of blood, but all is under control now.”, the Doctor smiled.  
“Can I stay with him? Please, he was gone for about a week, I thought I’d lost him forever. He was all alone and scared, even if he is unconscious, he will know that I am by his side. He needs me now.”, Oswald begged and Jim added: “It would be good to have someone here to make sure the kidnappers won’t come back at him.”, he gave Oswald an intense look and the smaller man breathed a “Thank you”, looking perplexed and relieved at the same time about Gordons support.  
“Alright, he can stay, but on your responsibility. Please wait in the waiting room; I will call you when your friend is ready to be transferred from the emergency room.”

Jim and Leslie left after they knew Ed would be okay and told Oswald to give them a call as soon as they would wake him up.  
Oswald waited about three hours, as finally a nurse appeared and told him to come with her.  
On the way, she gave him some information which was basically the same the doctor told him earlier and he was glad that it didn’t turn out to be worse.  
“Please be prepared, your friend is not looking so good but he will get better soon. His body needs to recover, so please be sure he gets the rest he needs.”, she explained.  
“Of course I will. I just can’t leave him alone now..”  
“And I am sure he will know that he has company. This is the room. If anything happens, there is an emergency button next to the bed; also if you need anything, I’ll be right over there.” She pointed at a door not far away.  
Oswald nodded.  
“Thank you, I’m fine.”  
The nurse smiled and left him alone.  
Oswald felt his heartbeat rising, as he laid his hand on the cold doorknob.  
He took a deep breath and tiptoed into the room.   
Ed was lying in a bed in the middle of the room, attached to several machines; one was monotonously beeping.   
Oswald stepped closer and just stared at his friend for a little eternity.  
There was not much left of the man he fell in love with and it hurt so bad to see him like this.

But he was there..  
He was alive..

Oswald pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down.  
Ed was all cleaned up now and his wounds treated, but it was obvious that he must have gone through hell and back.  
He took Ed’s hand in his; careful not to accidentally pull out the medical tube that was stuck into it, stroking it lightly with his thumb.  
“I’m so sorry, love..”, he breathed and blinked away a single tear.  
“You have to rest now, but I am here. I won’t leave you.. You will be okay soon and when you wake up, I’ll still be here..”  
He sat there, holding Ed’s hand for a while, but soon it wasn’t enough anymore so he pulled off his shoes and just curled up next to his boyfriend, his face snuggled against his shoulder.  
The bed was big enough and he wasn’t touching any parts of the machines, so he didn’t care if he was allowed to or not.  
“You know what?”, he whispered, “I never knew how it feels to love someone, until I met you.. And much more when I thought I could have lost you forever.. But that won’t happen again. No one will dare touching you ever again..”

There was no answer.  
Oswald listened to the sound of Ed’s soft breathing and closed his eyes.   
He was breathing.. His heart was beating.. Nothing else mattered for now.

Oswald Cobblepot kept his promise.  
He never left Edward Nygma’s side for more than a few minutes.  
It was the third day, when the doctors finally decided that it was time to wake him up.  
Jim Gordon and Leslie Thompkins were already waiting with Oswald in the corner of room, to give the Doctor some space to check on Ed first.  
Oswald’s eyes were following every move the Doctor made and he listened carefully to everything he said.  
“.. Reflexes normal.. Can you hear me? It is alright, you are in a hospital, I am your doctor. Can you tell me your name?”  
It took a few moments until they could hear a hoarsely, quiet reply.  
“Ed..Edward ..Nygma..”  
“Very good, Mr. Nygma. How are you feeling?”

“Tired..”

“That’s alright. You slept for three days and you are still on medication against the pain from your injuries.”

“What..happened..”

“Your friends are here as well, they will be able to tell you better than I am.” The Doctor smiled.

“My.. friends..?”

The Doctor gave a sign, that it was okay to come over now.  
“I’ll go first.”, Oswald decided and limped closer to the bed, looking at Ed with shiny eyes, his lips forming a smile as the other man turned his head to look at him.  
“Hey..”, he greeted his friend almost shyly, his smile becoming wider.  
He couldn’t be happier than in this very moment, when Ed’s warm, brown eyes found his.

Edward Nygma stared at the small man like in a state of shock.  
“No..”, he whispered and his body started trembling.  
Oswald’s smile vanished.  
“Ed.. what’s wrong.. What.. what is wrong with him?”, he asked the Doctor, slightly panicking.  
“NO! He’s going to kill me…. He is going to kill me…”, Ed stuttered and almost fell from the bed, as he tried to move away from Oswald hastily.  
“I.. what? ..Ed..”, Oswald wanted to come closer, as Ed pressed his hands on his ears and screamed: “SHUT UP!!”  
His eyes turned white and he collapsed, his body still uncontrollably twitching.   
“He is having a seizure, get him out!”, the Doctor yelled at Gordon and Jim pulled Oswald out of the room immediately, pushing him against the wall.  
“You better have a very good explanation for what just happened.”, he hissed, but Oswald was shaking himself.  
“I don’t know.. I didn’t do anything.. What’s wrong with him??”, he stammered but Jim dashed him against the wall once more.  
“DON’T …lie to me, Penguin. I swear, if you are behind this, I will make you regret it for the rest of your life and now get out of my sight and don’t you dare come back here again.”, Jim growled and pushed Oswald away, who stumbled a few steps backwards, turned around and tried to escape from this situation as fast as possible.  
He didn’t understand what was happening.  
The only thing in his mind was Ed’s eyes, staring at him full of fear and hate.  
When he finally found the way out of the hospital, he looked up into the grey sky, trying to breath.

-You are going to regret this-

The kidnapper’s words rushed through his head.  
“No..”, he whispered, slowly understanding what actually just happened and the moment everything suddenly made sense, he could do nothing but scream.

 

***

 

 


	18. Play by the rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly things become clearer for everyone but Ed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotham monday without Gotham but not without a new chapter!! =) Sorry for breaking everyones heart all the time but there's hope! ;) Enjoy and have a nice week!! =)

 

 

***18***

 

 

“The Doctor gave him tranquilizers and is checking on him again..”, Leslie said as she left the room.  
“Harvey was right.. He was behind this all the time.. He was fooling us, why have I been so stupid??”  
Jim took a deep breath and walked up and down.  
“You haven’t.. Stay here, I need some fresh air..”, Leslie said and Jim nodded.  
She gave him a little kiss and walked away.  
For Jim it was the easiest and best solution, but there was something wrong here and she needed to talk to Oswald.  
Luckily she found him outside of the building, sitting on a wall and in the shadows of the trees by the parking lot.  
“Oswald!”  
The small man looked up, jumped off the wall and hurried to get to her.  
“Lee! You have to believe me; I have nothing to do with this!! I have no reason to hurt him, I love him!! Why else would I be here all the time, reading him every damn riddle page from the hospital gift shop magazines, THEY did this to him, not me, I SWEAR by my mother!”  
Leslie put her hands on his shoulders, shoving him back into the shadows.  
“Shh.. I know. I believe you.”, she said with a low voice. “I will try to find out what happened to him, but promise me that you will stay away until I give you a call. If it is like you said, they must have planted some false information into his head. I already expected him to be traumatized, because who wouldn’t be.. But this is worse and we have to treat his state with care.”  
Oswald listened to her words attentively and nodded.  
“This is a nightmare.. The kidnapper warned me that I would regret it. Ed never looked at me like that… This is worse than killing him..”, Oswald said.  
“No it is not. This can be fixed. Death is once and for all. Go now, I will take care of him.”  
Oswald hesitated.  
“Do you trust me?”, Leslie asked and he looked into her eyes.  
“No..”, he said, “But I don’t have a choice, right?”  
She smiled.  
“Jim would be pleased if Ed would stay away from me.. You are his girlfriend, why would you help me getting this fixed.”  
“First of all I need to find out what happened, what exactly triggered a reaction like that.”  
“Me… it was ME who triggered that!! My own boyfriend just collapsed only from looking at me!”  
“I will try everything to help you two and I won’t tell Jim, if you owe me a favor in return.”, Leslie said eventually. “Whatever I want.”  
Oswald thought about this for a second and nodded. “Whatever you want.”, he promised.

It was later that day, when Ed Nygma had recovered from earlier events and was well enough to finally talk to Jim and Leslie.  
“No word about Penguin’s sick love story bullshit.”, Jim whispered to his girlfriend, before they entered the room.  
“Got it.”, she replied and was happily surprised to see Ed sitting in bed, looking much better than a few hours ago.

“Detective Gordon, Dr. Thompkins.”, he greeted his visitors, his voice still sounding a little weak and throaty.  
“Hello Ed. Good to see you awake.”, Jim said and managed a smile.  
“What happened to me? Why am I here?”, Ed wanted to know and watched the couple getting chairs to sit down next to his bed.  
“I hoped you could tell us.”, Gordon said, but Ed shook his head.  
“You can’t remember anything?”  
“No. Well. I can remember a lot. Just not how I got here..”  
Ed looked at Jim, his eyes full of concern, mixed with hope for explanations.

Jim cleared his throat.  
“Well, you have been gone for about a week. You got kidnapped. We are glad to have you back alive.”, he explained.  
“Why would anyone kidnap me?”  
“It seemed like he was hoping to get a lot of money for you.”  
“Who would pay money for me?”  
It was sad, but the truth. There was no one in this world he meant enough to, to get anything out of abduction.  
Jim didn’t know what to say to this and Leslie looked around, seeing the magazines Oswald was talking about next to the bed and his bracelet, now dirty and damaged, but still knotted around Ed’s wrist.  
There was no doubt Oswald told her the truth, but at some point Jim was right.  
Telling Edward he was in a romantic relationship with the man who almost feared him to death a few hours ago could be just more disturbing at the moment.  
“It was probably a misunderstanding.”, she said eventually.  
“You are still weak and your injuries have to heal… When you have your strength back, we will work on recovering your memories, if they won’t come back on their own. You just need to be patient now.”, she explained with a cheerful smile.  
“What do you know about Oswald Cobblepot?”, Jim suddenly pointed out and Ed twitched.  
His face turned white, but his hand moved to his wrist, covering the bracelet automatically.  
“He’s going to to skin me alive..He...”, Ed started babbling, his eyes glazing over and Jim exchanged glances with Leslie.  
“No one’s going to hurt you! Ed? You are safe here, okay?”, Leslie said and Ed looked at her, as if someone just woke him up from a dream.  
“Are you okay?”, she asked and Ed nodded slowly.  
“Did Cobblepot hurt you? Can you tell us, if he did this to you?”, Jim asked eagerly but Ed just looked more confused.  
“I’m not sure.. I don’t know… I can’t remember.. “, he said and was about to cry.  
He didn’t understand any of this and his head was so full of pictures and words that didn’t fit into anything that could make sense.  
“That is a beautiful bracelet you have there..”, Leslie said and now Ed realized that he had his wrist clutched in his hand tightly all the time and loosened the grip to look at the unfamiliar piece.  
“It is dirty… I don’t even know why I have this.”  
“Since this is a friendship bracelet, you probably got it from a friend..”, Leslie smiled.  
She gave Jim a sign that she needed to talk to him outside.  
“We will be right back, do you want something? Are you hungry?”  
Ed shook his head and watched them leave the room.

He looked down at his wrist again and tried to remember, but there was nothing.  
But it felt important..  
He looked around and noticed some magazines, a crumpled blanket hanging over a chair next to his bed and an half emptied bottle of water on the nightstand.  
Did someone stay here with him?  
It was like he was missing someone’s presence and not Detective Gordon or Dr. Thompkins.  
There was a different scent in this room, one he wasn’t able to connect to a face.  
Could it be Oswald Cobblepot? He was here before, but why..  
He met the Penguin only once, at the GCPD, where he talked to him..  
That must have been his mistake..  
He must have made him very angry…  
While thinking of Cobblepot, different voices started screaming in his head, making his vision go blurry.  
“Shut up..”, he whined, “Just shut up..”  
Ed could feel that something was very wrong with him.  
His brilliant mind was the only thing he could always rely on but now it betrayed him.  
He felt helpless and alone and the voices didn’t stop.  
Not knowing what else to do, he covered his ears with his hands, but that didn’t help.  
“Shut up..”, he begged frantically, feeling tears burning in his eyes.

“You know it wasn’t him.”  
Leslie was leaning against the wall; arms crossed in front of her chest, watching her boyfriend walking up and down again, scratching his neck.  
“He just echoed what Oswald said to the kidnapper when he called for the first time. What if he recorded all their conversations and used them to brainwash him.”  
“Yeah.. That makes sense..”, Jim admitted.  
“But it also would be for the best if Ed wouldn’t remember his relationship with Penguin. Just in case what you are saying is true.”  
Leslie sighed and walked to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and looked deep into his blue eyes.  
“The best for him or the best for you? Jim.. It is not your decision to make, it is his.”  
“I am not going to support this. Penguin is poison for Gotham and combined with Ed Nygma.. ”  
“You could pretend you don’t know. One step ahead and also I made Oswald owe me a favor if I help Ed out of this.”, she winked with a cute smile.  
Jim’s eyes were widening and he was speechless for a moment.  
“I wonder if the day will ever come, when you don’t surprise me.”, he said and smiled back at her.  
She was obviously well aware of how cards are played in Gotham and denying Edward Nygma his one true love, whoever it was, wouldn’t work for long.  
Also Penguin would not just let it go.  
However that little creep defined love, he would not let anyone take it from him, Jim thought.  
Jim Gordon had to accept that sometimes things couldn’t be fixed in Gotham and that the least-worst option was often the only solution.  
“You’re right. If he remembers the truth, if it is the truth, it is better we have an eye on Nygma. Kicking him out of the GCPD would be as good as sending him directly to the dark side with a letter of recommendation and a box of cookies in his hands.”

 

 

 

***

 

 

 


	19. Shattered memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed discovers some details about things he can't remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk.. this is probably my personal fav chapter.. hope you like it, too =) Happy Gotham-monday~ =)

 

 

 

*** 19 ***

 

 

Edward Nygma stayed in hospital for one more week, until he was finally ready to leave.  
Leslie Thompkins came to pick him up and he was really grateful for that favor.  
She was the only one who visited him every day, but there was something else.  
Every day, someone sent him fresh flowers, brought by a delivery service and always without a note.

“Thank you, for bringing me new clothes, Dr. Thompkins.”, Ed said, while he got dressed.  
“You don’t have to thank me.”, Leslie smiled. “I promised someone to take care of you. Ah. I almost forgot! Here are your new keys. The door lock from your apartment is brand new, since yesterday and your housekeeper gave me a new one for the front door. But you probably have to pay for the lost one..”  
“That’s fine.. Thank you, seriously. I have no idea where I lost my keys..”  
“Still no memories?”, she asked and Ed shook his head, his expression turning sad.  
“I have pictures in my head… Voices.. But I can’t say if any of that really happened or if I have just dreamed them.. Weird dreams. Don’t make sense.”, Ed said dryly and looked around to check, if he forgot something.  
“Do you know where these flowers are coming from?”, he asked eventually and looked at her with bright eyes.  
“Yes I do.”, Leslie confessed with a sweet smile. “They are coming from someone who loves you very much. But you have to remember on your own..”  
“You are not going to tell me?”  
“We already know that the kidnappers planted false information into your head.. It is important, that you find out for yourself. If I give you information about something you can’t remember, it could confuse you even more..”  
Ed walked to his nightstand, where he had placed the freshest bouquet and pulled out a petal from a red rose, staring at it while he was deep in thoughts.  
“This is not fair..”, he said bitterly and pressed his lips together.  
“Someone loves me and I can’t even remember how that feels. Being loved..”, he spit out the words and squashed the petal like a bug.  
“You will remember. We will work on that step by step. Just keep in mind that there is someone out there waiting for you.”, Leslie said and it broke her heart a little to hear that Edward must have been lonely for so long and the moment he finally found love, someone took it from him.

Ed said nothing and followed her after a last check on the room.  
While Leslie was driving him home, he also remained silent and looked out of the window.  
In hospital, he had way too much time to think and had to distract himself from the disturbing pictures in his head, so he had asked for a notebook and started filling it with riddles, he made up.  
The book was almost full now..  
He wasn’t even able to tell Leslie any of the weird stuff that was going on in his head, because it was freaking him out.  
Everything was circling around one person.. Oswald Cobblepot..  
He remembered the day he was drawn to this man, feeling the urge to talk to him..  
This memory was clear and felt real and he knew that he was pleased by the way Penguin had looked at him.  
But just remembering his eyes made chills running through his spine. His hands felt sweaty and he wasn’t able to breathe anymore.  
It was even worse when he heard his voice in his head, so he had to forbid himself to think of him.

“Here we are. Ed? You’re home.”, Leslie said and now the forensic scientist finally turned his head to look at her.  
“Am I?”, he asked quietly and opened the door. “Thank you for your support, Dr. Thompkins, I appreciate that.”, Ed said and Leslie smiled.  
“Take care. See you tomorrow at work.”  
“Yes. See you tomorrow.” Ed wasn’t smiling, though he was really thankful, he just didn’t feel like it.  
He stared at the front door of his apartment building and got hit by a flashback.  
For less than a second, he saw the silhouette of a dark, contorted figure, leaning against the doorframe and he felt fear and relief at the same time and then it was gone.  
He exhaled and walked to the door, looking down at the stairs.  
Even without his glasses, he could see tiny traces of dried blood.  
His eyes were trained enough to immediately recognize them without doubt.  
Whose blood was that?

“I guess this puzzle is not that easy to solve..”, Ed mumbled to himself and opened the door.  
He climbed the stairs to his apartment and the moment he stepped in, he immediately noticed the strange scent again.  
Strange and familiar at the same time, and again bringing back the feeling of a missing piece.  
“Have you been here?”, Ed asked into the silence and closed the door behind him.  
He looked around and noticed a few things that were unusual in his apartment.  
The blanket on his couch was crumpled. Usually it was folded and neatly placed on the backrest.  
He spotted two empty, but used mugs on the table.  
Ed never used two mugs at the same time.  
There was also an envelope lying on the table, with his name written on it, so he picked it up curiously and sat down on the couch.  
He opened it and looked inside, finding a few of his belongings.  
His car keys, his damaged glasses, his dead mobile phone and a letter.  
He unfolded the paper and a little blue flower fell into his lap.  
Ed picked it up with care, because he didn’t want to damage it and took a closer look at it.  
“Forget-me-not..”, he mumbled and placed it on the table, before he started reading.  
“If this was a riddle.. could you solve it?”  
Ed couldn’t help but smile at this.  
“You know me well, don’t you?”, he sighed and stood up to charge his phone, then he went looking for his second pair of glasses.

He entered his bedroom and found the sheets crumpled. Usually he made his bed directly after he stood up…  
There was a posted lying on the pillow, and he picked it up to read it.  
It was his own handwriting, so he must have left this message for someone else..  
Someone sleeping with him in his bed..  
“What is too sweet when asleep, too dangerous when conscious and too precious to not be loved..”, he read out loud and blinked. “Not my best one..”  
He walked back to the living room to get his notebook and searched for an empty page, where he wrote down everything he had discovered so far.

-Blood on the doorstep.  
-Love brought back belongings  
-Love left a flower and a riddle  
-Flower probably part of the puzzle  
-Love was still asleep when I was leaving the house, the day they took me.  
-Love is sweet and dangerous and precious.  
-Love smells good

Ed left the notebook on the table and went into the bathroom. He felt a little bit dizzy..  
After he had splashed some cold water into his face, a bowl on the floor caught his attention.  
It was filled with bloody tissues and when he checked his first aid kit, which he found next to the bowl, he noticed that a few things like patches and bandages were missing.

The picture from the figure at his front door came back to his mind and was followed by a new feeling.  
He remembered the taste of blood in his mouth.

-It’s not my blood-

Ed shook his head took a deep breath. What happened here?  
“I stabbed a man..”, he suddenly said out loud and shook his head again.  
That must have been a dream.  
He walked back to the living room, took the flower and the notebook and returned to his bedroom.  
After he had changed clothes, he slipped under the sheets and opened the book on the last page he was writing on before.  
He thought about a few things that could make sense and eventually added to the list:

-Love was injured  
-I treated wounds

Ed placed the flower between the pages and closed the notebook with a sigh.  
“I will solve this puzzle. I promise.”  
He curled up into a ball and closed his eyes. He wanted to remember so badly.  
How it felt, to fall asleep next to a loved one…  
He let his hand wander over the mattress next to him.  
The still crinkled fabric was proof that someone else had slept there..  
In this moment he felt so lonely that he was about to cry.  
How could he miss someone like that, if he wasn’t even able to remember who it was?  
If all of this wouldn’t have happened, would his love be here now, lying in his arms?  
“You miss me too, don’t you?”, he whispered and started sobbing silently.  
He thought back to the moment he woke up at the hospital, when the first person who wanted to see him was Oswald Cobblepot..  
A genuine smile on his face and his eyes full of love, but just picturing them in his head made his body starting to tremble, the voices in his head screamed, making Ed bury his face in his pillow, crying fiercely. 

How in this world could it be possible, that it was him..  
And if it was him, why was he so scared? 

Dr. Thompkins said that false information was planted into his head, so the fear he felt could be forced by whatever the kidnappers did to him.  
Anyway, his physical reaction to Oswald Cobblepot was pure torture, no matter if he had to fear him or not.  
And if not, how should he find a way out of this mess.

 

 

***

 

 


	20. Little pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed faces his old love and also discoveres his new one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dearest readers!! Sorry, I got a little busy the last days!! I try to keep up with the story but don't know how fast I will be able to update... Enjoy the next little piece and have a nice week =)

 

 

 

*** 20 ***

 

 

 

Edward Nygma didn’t sleep well that night and arrived at the GCPD the next morning with mixed feelings.  
It was good to be back, even if nothing felt like it was before.  
Well, he didn’t expect a “Welcome back”-party and didn’t get one, so not everything has changed.  
He felt kind of hollow, like he was used to.

Ed entered his office and stared at the stack of cases, waiting for him on his desk.

“Can’t handle a single case without me, can you?”, he said to himself, with a sardonic smile on his face.  
On the other hand, he was glad to have too much work. That would keep him distracted.  
This morning, he found his coat smeared with blood and the knife in its pocket also covered with dried blood.  
Of course he left the coat at home, but took some samples to work to find out whose blood that was.  
The message his love had left for him was really helpful.  
Instead of drowning in despair, Ed chose to consider his shattered memories as a huge puzzle and felt excitement rising for solving it piece by piece.  
Even if that wouldn’t help bringing back his memory or curing his fear, it would help him understand and find a solution.  
He couldn’t start fighting his enemy without knowing who or what it was.  
Dr. Thompkins was right, when she had decided not to tell him what she knew.   
Having a few more information from someone who wasn’t even part of this wouldn’t help him understand at all.

The door to his office flew open and a familiar person appeared, carrying a bunch of files.  
“Good morning, Mr. Nygma. Detective Bullock asked me to bring you a few files you might need.”  
It was Kristen Kringle, the young woman Ed Nygma had a crush on for so long.  
He always had the feeling, that she would be the perfect match for him, but she was always too blind to see it.  
Now she was smiling, almost shyly.  
“Thank you, Miss Kringle. Just leave them on the desk.”, he said with a little smile and watched her walking around.  
She was about to leave the room but hesitated as she reached the door and turned around.  
“Mr. Nygma.. I just wanted to say.. I am glad that you are back.”, she confessed and Ed didn’t know what to say.  
An impulse made him take a step closer.  
“Miss Kringle.. I..”, he was about to say something but wasn’t able to speak out the words.  
“Yes?”, she asked, waiting for him to say something.  
“I… uhm.. nothing.”  
“Yes.”  
“What?”  
“You wanted to ask me to go out with you, right?”, she smiled and took a deep breath, “And I say yes.”  
“No.”  
“What?”  
“I mean..”, Ed was biting his lower lip, “I…you…”, he was gesturing with his hands awkwardly, “You.. are.. a very beautiful woman and I wanted nothing more than going out with you but…”   
“But?”, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking at him impatiently.  
“It is not you..”, he said more to himself and looked up, right into her eyes. “You are not the one.. my one.”, he laughed out of relief, because he just realized something very important.   
Not a memory, but a feeling, a feeling that was no more.  
He had no feelings for Kristen Kringle anymore and that made him feel free, freed from an obsession that was bothering him over months..years…leading to nowhere.

“Oh..”, she said, slowly realizing that she just got dumped by Edward Nygma and nodded slowly.  
“Alright. Just tried to be nice.”, she added with a forced smile.  
“I guess..I can do without that. Because I belong to someone, I just have to remember who that is.”, Ed was smiling brightly.  
Kristen Kringle shrugged.  
“Good luck with that, Mr. Nygma.”, she said.  
“Thank you, Miss Kringle.”, he replied, still smiling and she left the room in a hurry. 

In a much better mood than before, Edward decided to look through the cases first.   
But where should he start?  
He left his office to look for Detective Gordon or Bullock, someone who could tell him where to start, but he couldn’t find them so back in his office, he fetched his mobile phone and noticed that it was still off.  
He pushed the power button, typed in the pin, waited for the home screen to appear and almost dropped his phone, when he saw the unfamiliar background image.

Ed felt his heartbeat rising and his hands started to shake a little, but he couldn’t take his eyes off that photo.  
“It is you..”, he whispered and rushed out of the room, because he needed to talk to Leslie Thompkins.

Luckily he almost bumped into her, as he was about to stumble down the stairs.  
“Dr. Thompkins!”, he called out loud.  
“Good morning Ed, I was just about to check if you need any help.”, she smiled. “What’s the matter?”  
“I.. I discovered something!”, he stretched out his arm to hold the mobile phone right in front of her face, breathing heavily.   
Because the screen already turned black again, she took the phone to take a better look at the display and smiled.

“So you found out.”, she said and Ed nodded. “I already considered him because everything that’s going on in my head is about him but then I thought it can never be him, but it’s him.”, he babbled and dashed away a tear.  
“Is that good news for you or bad? How do you feel about this?”, Leslie asked curiously and gestured to go back into his office.  
Ed followed her and closed the door, before he turned around to look at her with bright eyes.  
“Good! That’s good news! ..I mean.. not good because he’s freaking me out but good because I felt drawn to him from the first moment I saw him. When he walked into the GCPD and introduced himself.. you haven’t been here at that time but it was just.. I don’t know.. powerful? It was something in his eyes that fascinated me.. I..” Ed suddenly stopped talking, letting out a noise as if he was in pain, while he covered his ears with his hands, eyes squeezed shut.  
“Ed, are you okay?”  
“I don’t know..”, he whined, “When I picture him in my head, it hurts.. I feel panic and fear and voices are screaming in my head.. What’s wrong with me Dr. Thompkins?”  
“Come on, Ed.. sit down…”, she said, leading him to the couch. “You know.. Oswald was sleeping here, while we were looking for you.”, she said, hoping to distract him and it worked.  
“He did?”, Ed asked silently and sniffed.  
He looked at his mobile phone screen again and carefully touched the peaceful looking face of his forgotten friend, as if he could actually feel it.  
“How did I do this?”, he whispered, “How did I make him becoming my boyfriend? I mean.. he is Oswald Cobblepot.. and I am…”  
“Very important to him.”, Leslie interrupted. “You know what he said the day he came to us to ask for help finding you? He said he probably doesn’t deserve love, but you do. And if his love is good enough for you, then he is blessed.”, she smiled, “So maybe he is asking himself the same question.. How did he do this? Making you fall for him..”  
“I look so happy..”, Ed managed a sad smile, “It is like seeing the face of a different person..”  
“When you look at that picture, seeing Oswald, is it freaking you out?”  
Ed looked up abruptly and shook his head.   
“But I can’t look at it for too long.. and my hands are a little bit sweaty.”  
“That could mean that your fear is only triggered by special circumstances…”  
“Seems so.. But it is possible to reprogram my brain. The memories are there, I know it. I just have to sort them.. Everything is so confusing now, but what I see on this picture, I want that back.. I want HIM back.”  
“I thought about a therapy including hypnosis, I already picked out some very good psychiatrists for you.”  
“You are not going to do it? Help me.. I mean..” Ed looked at her, obviously disappointed.  
“I am no specialist.. I want you to get the best help you could.”  
“But I trust you. I don’t want a stranger messing with my brain.. Dr. Thompkins please, you have to help me.”  
Leslie sighed.  
“Okay. I will talk to someone, ask for advice and try to figure out a way to cure you.”, she said, not mentioning that she actually promised Oswald to help him out of this. She just wasn’t sure if she was able to, but seeing Edward’s face brightening up and him smiling at her was motivation enough.   
“This is so confusing.. I know now, that he is the one who loves me, but my brain keeps telling me that he wants to hurt me..”  
“Your brain has to learn that he would never hurt you. I have an idea, but I will talk to some specialists first. Don’t worry, Ed. We will fix this. And Oswald is going nowhere, he will wait for you.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am. He was so terrified of losing you; he won’t give up on you.”

“Can I text him? Or call him?”  
“You can do whatever you want, he is your boyfriend. Wait, I give you his new number.”, Leslie was looking for her phone while she kept talking, “I got the job to keep him up to date, whatever happens.”  
She picked out the number and started reading it out loud, while Ed typed the digits into his address book simultaneously, saving it under ‘Love’.

“It feels so weird… All the time I was so into Miss Kringle and suddenly that is all gone and I have this but can’t remember..”  
“So you haven’t been into guys before?”, Leslie asked out of pure curiosity and Ed shook his head.  
“But I don’t care. He is awesome and he loves me. Isn’t that the best way to wake up from coma and suddenly have a cool boyfriend?”, Ed let out a laughter.  
“Glad you take it with humor.”, Leslie replied, slightly amused and Ed shrugged.  
“I actually take it very seriously. Love is the strongest power. If that happened between him and me, it happened for a reason. Then it was meant to be.”

 

 

***

 


	21. Connected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed is collecting more pieces of his memory, with a little help from an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this to take longer, I am so busy lately! But all of my few reviewers, I love you so much, you give me life and this is just for you <3 <3 (things turn into a fluffly direction again X3) Have a great rest week <3 <3

 

 

 

 

 

*** 21 ***

 

 

 

 

It was late at night, when Oswald Cobblepot walked home from his club, his open umbrella clutched in his fist to protect him from the rain, as if he would care at the moment.  
He was in the mood to destroy the world and though he was in the process of plotting his move to take over Gotham, it was hard for him to stay focused and not to run amok completely.  
He needed fresh air to clear his head.  
Every minute with the knowledge that Ed was back, but he was not able to meet him, was driving him crazy.  
He turned into a dark alley, which was a shortcut to his home and was half through, as he heard a voice behind him.  
“Hey, boy.. You’re in the wrong neighborhood..”  
Oswald stopped abruptly, hearing the stranger coming closer.  
“Yeah..good. Don’t move; now give me your money.”  
He rolled with his eyes and snorted, before he slowly turned around and looked up to man, who was much taller and seemingly confident.  
“And you, Sir, are talking to the wrong person. Too bad.”, he faked a smile and whipped out a knife, thrusting it into the man’s upper leg, too fast and too unexpected for the other to react.  
The stranger screamed in pain and crooked as Oswald pulled the knife out, leaving a strong bleeding wound behind but that wouldn’t bother the man for long.  
Oswald screamed and with one quick move, he cut the strangers throat and watched him collapse, breathing heavily.  
The man was immediately dead but Oswald thrust the knife into his body over and over, until he was too exhausted to go on and let himself sink on the wet ground next to him.  
He leaned against the cold stonewall of the building and closed his eyes, trying to catch his breath.  
“You know what, dead man? Soon, very soon, I will own Gotham and you know who’s in the wrong neighborhood then? Right. Everyone.”, he said hoarsely and chuckled.  
Was he feeling better now? Well.. a little.  
Suddenly his mobile phone started vibrating in his pocket and he pulled it out, regardless of all the blood on his hand.  
“Hello?”, he asked slightly annoyed and waited for the unknown caller to say something, but he just heard someone breathing.  
“Who’s there?”, he asked again and after a while he heard a familiar voice, that made his heart skip a beat.  
“O..Oswald?”, the voice was thin and shaky, but there was no doubt.  
Oswald opened his eyes and straightened himself up.  
“Ed? Ed is that you?”, he asked excitedly and tightened his grip around his mobile phone to stop his hand from shaking.  
All he got as an answer was a silent scream, as if the other man was in pain.  
“Ed? What’s going on? Are you okay?”, he kept asking, but the call was ended as suddenly as it came.  
He didn’t hesitate for a second and tried to call back, but no one picked up.  
“Damn it Ed, pick up..”, he whispered but gave up after three tries and typed a message instead.  
-Are you alright? Please answer me..-  
He stood up, looked around and decided that the heavy rain would do enough to wash away all traces that could lead to him and just left the crime scene as if it was none of his business.  
On his way home, he checked his messages over and over, but Ed wasn’t writing back.  
He didn’t even notice that he was soaked to the bone by now; all he cared about was his boyfriend.  
Just now he realized that he was not far from Ed’s home and decided to change plans.

Ed was lying on the floor, slowly recovering from the little seizure that Oswald’s voice had triggered.  
He didn’t regret that he tried calling him, though.  
The other man sounded pleased to hear his voice and that was a good feeling.  
He reached out to get his mobile phone, but before he got the chance to check his messages, the doorbell was ringing.  
Still a little bit dizzy, Ed stood up and stumbled to the window on shaky legs.  
Since he got kidnapped, he wouldn’t just open the door at a time like this.  
No one ever visited him before..  
He peeked through the curtain carefully, but couldn’t see anyone from his angle; also the rain prevented him a clear view to the pavement.  
While he was still considering if he should open the door, go down or just pretend no one was home, he received a new text message.

-It’s me.. are you home? I saw light… I need to know if you’re alright… Oswald.-

Ed felt his heart beating faster and typed back: -I’m alright..! Sorry, it was one of those damn seizures.. Step away from the door, I’m standing at the window.-

He didn’t have to wait long, until a small, black figure appeared in his view, looking up to him, but he couldn’t see his face clear.  
Ed raised his arm and waved shyly, because he didn’t know what else to do.  
It broke his heart to see his friend standing outside in the rain and knowing that he couldn’t let him in.  
Oswald didn’t return the greeting, but he could see him type something into his mobile phone and the next moment he got a new message.

-So good to see you, my friend..-

Ed felt tears burning in his eyes, as he wrote a reply.  
-You must be so cold.. I wish I could let you in and warm you up.. I’m so sorry, I can’t..-  
The reply came fast.  
-I’m okay. Are you? Do you remember..us?-  
-No, not really.. All I know is that I want to be with you..-

Oswald hesitated with the answer but finally wrote:

-That’s enough for me, love..-

He was about to cry, because that was of course not enough.   
Edward was so close and yet so far away..  
He opened the next message and now he wasn’t able to fight back his tears any longer.  
Ed had sent him their selfie with the words: -I want you here.. like this.. in my arms. I feel so lonely…-  
Even if Oswald already knew that it won’t happen tonight, he wrote: -Then let me in..-  
He saw Ed taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes with his sleeve. Was he crying, too?  
-I have to get my brain under control first.. I’m so sorry..-  
-It’s fine.. Just wishful thinking.. Don’t forget that I love you, okay? When you feel lonely.. remember, that I am there. I am yours. And I will wait.-  
-I am so happy, that it is you.. Even if I don’t understand it yet, I am happy that you are my love. I will find my way back to you, I promise.-

Oswald sighed with a sad smile and decided to call himself a cab, before he typed one more message.  
-I leave you something at the doorstep, but you have to bring it back to me. It’s a riddle. Good night, my dear. Imagine me kissing you.-

Ed smiled, when he read that message and wrote back: -Can’t wait to find out how that feels. Sweet dreams.-  
He watched Oswald vanishing for a second and then waiting by the street, as a cab appeared and stopped in front of him.  
He turned around and looked at him once more, before he finally got into the cab and was gone.  
Curious what he had left for him, Ed walked down to the front door and found his umbrella. Penguin’s umbrella.. he thought, and somehow this felt familiar.  
He hurried back inside and even if he felt more like taking his friends trademark to bed with him, he left the umbrella next to his door to let it dry from the rain.

When he was back in bed, he read the messages again and couldn’t stop smiling.  
“He loves me..”, Ed whispered to himself and laughed. “He’s mine..”  
Even if he had no memory of what happened between him and Oswald Cobblepot, he felt the connection and it felt so good knowing that there was someone he was important to.  
And now he had proof that all this was still real.   
This was reality and all this fear that Oswald wanted to hurt him was nothing but bullshit.  
Now the only thing left to do was convincing his subconscious mind. 

The next morning, Ed walked through the streets of Gotham with no particular place in mind.  
He got up early, so he could return the umbrella before work and even without knowing where to go, he kind of knew the way.  
He had walked this way before, carrying this umbrella and that’s exactly why Oswald had left it for him just for the cause to bring it back.  
It took him about an hour, until he spotted something familiar; the closed entrance to a small club with a neon sign in the shape of an umbrella in the window, barely visible in the daylight and with the lights off.  
“Oswald’s..”, Ed mumbled to himself and walked faster, stopped in front of the club and looked at the door.  
“This is where it all started, right? I came here, didn’t I? That night… the opening..”  
Ed remembered how nervous he was, before he entered this club for the very first time.   
That he made it in with Detective Gordon’s invitation…  
Now he even remembered how the club looked from the inside, the music, the table where he was sitting and that he had talked to Oswald there about a potential alliance.  
And then they started drinking together… until that, Ed was very clear about the events but then the memory was fading into darkness.

He had to come back here at night, everything looked different at night..  
But for now, he ripped a page out of his notebook and wrote a message to attach to the umbrella, before he left it in the shadows of the doorframe: 

“One step closer.”

 

 

***

 

 


	22. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally Ed gets the chance to meet his boyfriend in person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone~~ Sorry for letting you wait so long but sometimes I just don't have the time but I didn't give up on this!!! I even started a new story so when this ends, I will keep writing Nygmobblepot =D If you like, have a look and tell me what you think. Worth reading or just bullshit? X3 Now enjoy very fluffy mobblepot feels and have a lovely rest week <3

 

 

 

***Chapter 22***

 

 

 

“And you really think this could help?”, Oswald asked hopefully, looking up at Leslie Thompkins, who had unexpectedly asked him to come to Ed’s home this evening.  
They were standing on the street, in front of the door and Oswald remembered last night, when he was here but Ed didn’t want to let him in.  
Or he wanted to, but couldn’t.  
“Ed told me about yesterday, what happened when he called you and after. I think his seizures are triggered only by certain events. The kidnappers used a recording of your voice and probably a photo they took from you and used that, combined with drugs and torture, to create this terrible fear he has and that blocks his ability to get back his memory. Because before he can remember things you said to him or moments you two shared, remembering your face or voice triggers something, starting at some kind of panic attack, leading to a seizure in the worst case.”  
“So there is no way to break that or what?, Oswald interrupted.  
Hearing those things made his stomach twist. If it caused so much pain for Ed to see or hear him, what was he doing here then?  
“I thought about things the kidnappers could not use against him, because they didn’t have them. If you two had a physical relationship, he will remember other things. How it feels when you hold his hand, a hug, your smell, something like that.”, she explained with a gentle smile on her beautiful face.  
“We had only three nights together.. The first night we both were so drunk, I had a complete blackout at first, the second night was like a pajama party where my mom brought hot chocolate and cookies and the third night I was half dead and drugged with painkillers. What if that’s not enough? I was barely a part of his life before all this happened.”  
“Oswald…”, Leslie said softly, placing her hands on his shoulders, what made him flinch out of habit.  
“You are scared of what could happen, right? How he will react… But I can tell you, he asked me for this. He wants to meet you so badly. And he is nervous, too. He won’t see anything and you have to stay quiet. I know it might sound weird but..”  
“But I can touch him, right? I can hug him.. It won’t hurt him, right?”  
“I’m sure it won’t.”, Leslie smiled and Oswald took a deep breath and nodded.

“Alright. I want to see him. He is my boyfriend and I had no chance to be there for him since he woke up…”  
“And he needs you. You really don’t have to worry; I will be there too, to help you communicate.”  
“Okay. I’m ready.”

Edward was sitting on his couch, playing with his wristband nervously.  
Earlier this day, he got a text message from Oswald that said: “Thanks’ for returning my umbrella.”  
After reading that, he looked through his whole history and found the first exchange of text messages between him and Oswald.  
Rain. That was the first thing he ever wrote to him and he remembered rain.  
And he was right; he had returned his umbrella before.  
He slowly remembered bits of his first steps into the life of Oswald Cobblepot, but it still felt far away and unreal somehow.  
Ed just couldn’t wait any longer to meet him. Not just watching him from far away, he wanted to be close to him, even if he couldn’t look at him right now… 

The doorbell rang twice, which was the sign from Leslie, that she will come and bring Oswald with her now.  
Ed took a deep breath and pulled the borrowed sleep mask over his eyes, to make sure he won’t see anything and listened to the steps in the staircase coming closer, but soon they were drowned by his own heartbeat.

He heard the door opening and the sound of keys being placed in the bowl next to the door.  
“You have a visitor.”, the cheerful voice of Leslie Thompkins broke the silence and Ed turned his head into the direction, the voice came from.  
“Oswald?”, he asked quietly, reached out a hand and managed a little, shy smile.  
“It’s okay, you can go to him.”, Leslie encouraged the silent guest.  
Edward could hear his friend coming closer and immediately recognized the unique sound of his footsteps, caused by the limp.  
The next moment he felt his hand covered with Oswald’s warm hands and his soft lips brushing its back lightly.  
“Hi..”, Ed whispered and Oswald answered with kissing his hand gently, before he leaned his cheek against it.  
Out of an impulse, Ed grabbed his friend’s sleeves and pulled him on his lap and into a tight embrace.  
He dug his nose into the soft, expensive fabric of Oswald’s suit and breathed him in.  
“Yes..”, he mumbled, “Yes, this is you..” His fingers clutched in the fabric, he buried his face in the crook of Oswald’s neck, smelling his skin and everything felt so real and so familiar.  
Oswald wrapped his arms around his friend, leaned his head against his shoulder and closed his eyes.  
Finally back where he could die in peace, he just remained like this for a little eternity, embracing the feeling of loving another human being. No matter what people might think about him, what he felt for Edward Nygma was nothing but pure love.  
He cared so much about him that it almost hurt and he would never ever let anything bad happen to his love again.  
Ed loosened his grip and let his hands wander down Oswald’s back and up again.  
“You smell so good..”, he whispered against his neck and breathed a kiss on the soft skin.  
“I didn’t know how much I actually missed you, until now..”  
He felt Oswald moving away a little, then taking his face in both hands. He brushed over his lips with his thumb and kissed his forehead.  
“If you consider kissing me, go ahead.. I meant what I wrote to you yesterday..”, Edward said softly and Oswald didn’t wait to be asked a second time.  
Edward was awaiting the other man’s lips on his with heartbeat, and when he finally felt the sensation of this intimate touch, he was drawn directly into a different reality.  
He remembered the taste of wine, the smell of wet asphalt and the sound of heavy raindrops, hitting an umbrella that kept them safe from the world and everything that happened in it.  
This was his reality. This was real.

Leslie didn’t have the heart to interrupt the first meeting of this two men who loved each other so much and who were waiting for this so long.  
It was touching to see how much they needed each other and most important, how much Ed still felt the connection.  
But the more it seemed like they were losing themselves entirely in their kiss, the more she felt the urge to give a sign that she was still there.  
Leslie cleared her throat once…twice.. the third time a little bit louder and finally the couple seemed to realize, that they should better save their growing passion for another time.  
“Sorry to interrupt, boys, but before I see your pants flying through the room, I have a few questions for you Ed.”, she started and couldn’t fight back her amused smile.  
“I’m sorry, Dr. Thompkins.”, Ed said, trying to catch his breath and also Oswald tried to control his breathing, his cheeks slightly flushed.  
“I forgot a little bit where I was..I guess..”, he excused himself and cleared his throat.  
Oswald smiled and kissed his cheek before he leaned against his shoulder again and closed his eyes happily.  
“That’s okay.”, Leslie laughed, “Just tell me, what did you feel? What are you feeling now, do you remember anything?”  
“I..feel..”, Ed started and wrapped his arms around Oswald’s small body, snuggled his nose into his hair and breathed in his scent. “..home.”  
Oswald swallowed hard. It was painful not to be able to reply anything to this.  
He wanted to tell Ed so many things, how much he loved him and that everything was going to be alright..  
“It was raining, right? When we kissed for the first time..”  
Oswald looked up in surprise and nodded. “Yes.”, Leslie said.  
Ed smiled. “I remember that you tasted like wine..”  
“I want you to burn all of this into your memory. How he smells, his taste, how it feels having him in your arms. All good things you know are real have to be connected to Oswald. If we are working on this, I think your brain will forget soon that it thinks he will hurt you.. It is an instinct for now but it is irrational.”, Leslie explained and Ed nodded.  
“Totally. I’m so sorry that I ever assumed you would hurt me.. You would never hurt me..”, he said and tightened his embrace.  
He could feel that Oswald was shaking his head and he just knew that it was the truth.  
Like if they had this conversation before, but he couldn’t remember Oswald saying the words.  
Or his brain just blocked this part of his memory.

Leslie sighed.  
She knew that Oswald Cobblepot was a dangerous person, at least she believed that Jim wouldn’t warn her, if there wouldn’t be damn good reason for it.  
But seeing that little man like this made it hard to believe…  
Edward Nygma meant the world to him and even if they couldn’t be more different, they seemed perfect for each other.  
“I will give you a little privacy, I wait in the kitchen, if you need me.”, she finally said and Ed smiled into her direction.

 

 

 

***

 


	23. Patience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that it took so long, but I have to admit, since the creative flow I got with the new story, i needed a moment to find back into this! I hope you like the new chapter =) have a lovely weekend everyone ~

 

 

 

***23***

 

 

Ed and Oswald remained silent and just enjoyed the feeling of being close to each other for a little eternity.  
Ed’s hands were wandering over Oswald’s body gently, discovering and remembering how he felt even if he was fully dressed.  
“I am so sorry that it is like this now..”, Ed broke the silence eventually, “It is not that I can’t remember anything.. There are memories but I don’t know what is real and what not and how to sort them. Maybe you could help me… I don’t know.. if you could write down what happened between us.. Could you?”  
Oswald took his hand and breathed a kiss on its back, what Ed counted as a yes.  
Being so close to another human being was still so new to Ed that this little touch was enough to send a pleasant shiver up and down his spine.  
“I still can’t believe that I am with you… How did I do this?”, Ed waited a moment but just kept talking.  
“Right, you can’t answer.. You know what happened? I met Miss Kringle. Have I ever told you about her? I had a crush on her like forever and I wanted to ask her out like always, but then I noticed that all my feelings for her were gone. And the best thing is, she actually wanted to go out with me. Now. After I almost died… But I just felt that it is not her anymore and I told her and it felt so good. You should have seen her face.”, Ed laughed. “Sorry, am I talking too much? But you can’t stop me.”, he laughed again. “Sorry, I am just..nervous..I guess.. Am I talking too much?”  
Instead of answering, Oswald made his boyfriend shut up with a hungry kiss.  
He could listen to him talking about whatever forever; it was just too good to hear his voice, to hear him laugh.  
“Was that a yes or a no?”, Ed mumbled into the kiss and when he got some space to breathe he added: “Alright, kiss me once for yes and twice for no.”  
He felt the other man’s soft lips on his again and once more after a short break that wasn’t much longer than a blink.  
“So I can keep talking?”  
For that, he got one kiss at first, but then Oswald just couldn’t make himself stop.  
“Okay.. That were three…four…hey? What does that mean? Five? Si…is this a riddle?”  
Oswald chuckled and rubbed his nose against Ed’s gently.  
“I love riddles..”, Ed whispered, “But not this one.. I want us back..”  
Even with Ed’s eyes covered, Oswald could see his face turning sad so he hugged him tightly, hoping that it would make him feel comfortable and takes the worries away.  
Even if they would never have a normal relationship again, he wouldn’t let him go.  
They would find a way to make the best out of it, no matter what.  
He took his friends hand and wrote something into his palm with his finger.  
Ed didn’t notice from the beginning what Oswald was doing and asked: “Can you do it once more?”, then he read out loud: “I… a heart? …U..” Oswald’s message made him smile eventually and he whispered: “I love you too..”  
Oswald wrote another word in his palm.  
“Patience..”, Ed read and nodded. “Yes, I guess that’s all we need now…And thank you for not giving up on me..”  
Oswald pressed his lips together and snorted.   
He felt anger rising in his chest against those who did this to his only friend; his partner and lover.  
But they wouldn’t get away with this.  
Sooner or later he would find them and they would suffer for this. And it would be slow and painful.  
Patience was what he needed and patience was what he had in abundance.

“Hey, I have another idea. Can you record a tape for me? Just..saying some nice things.. Maybe I could use it to train my brain.”  
Ed got one kiss for his request and smiled.  
Oswald changed his position and he could hear him type a message. The next moment he heard the notification sound from his mobile phone.  
“Hey, that’s not fair, I can’t read it…”  
Instead of a reaction, his friend just typed a new message and Ed made a frustrated noise which made Oswald smile, because it sounded cute.

Before Ed could say something else, it knocked at the kitchen door and Leslie asked from the other room: “Are you guys dressed? Hands out of the pants, I am coming in now!”  
“Yeah, you can come in!”, Oswald replied without thinking about it and Ed crouched together in pain.  
Oswald slapped his hand over his mouth, eyes wide open.  
Leslie hurried to Ed who covered his ears with his hands and tried to move away from Oswald, breathing loud and heavy.  
“It’s alright, Ed!”, she said, “Calm down, there is no danger here…”  
Oswald’s lips formed a silent “I’m sorry.”, his eyes full of worries but Leslie tried to manage a cheerful smile.  
Ed was about to remove his sleeping mask in panic but Leslie hold his wrists to keep him from that.  
“Keep your eyes closed, it will make it worse. Breathe, you are safe!”  
She grabbed Oswald by his neck and shoved his head right into Ed’s face.  
“Breathe him in, Ed, breathe him in. He’s your sweetheart, remember?”, Leslie kept talking and Oswald made a face because he felt like a scented tool but wrapped his arms around Ed’s torso, to make him feel safe.  
He didn’t know if smelling his hair would be of any help but slowly his friend seemed to relax.  
“That’s right Ed.. Calm down… this is home, remember?” Leslie’s voice was soft and Oswald felt Ed’s hot breath against his head becoming more regular.  
“Oswald?”, he whispered, his voice shaky, and Oswald squeezed him like a teddy bear.  
“Yes, he is here.. You are with him and he is no danger for you..”  
“I… I’m sorry, I lost it…”  
“It’s alright… it is not your fault…”, Leslie said, knowing that it was exactly what Oswald would say.  
“I’m so sorry, Oswald…”, he whispered and kissed his forehead.  
“I think we should stop for today… Take some time to handle all this new impressions, sort your thoughts and feelings.. Oswald won’t vanish until the next time..”, She looked at the small man to ask for his approval and he nodded.  
“But I want to keep him..”, Ed mumbled and caught his friend into a tight embrace, what made Oswald smile.  
He took Ed’s hand and wrote a “P” into his palm.  
“Yeah, yeah..patience.. I know..”   
Oswald laid his hands on his cheeks and kissed him gently before he stood up and moved away from the couch.  
“But I already miss you.”, Ed complained and Oswald took his coat, which he had placed next to the door, to put it on reluctantly. He was about to wrap his red scarf around his neck but then decided to fold it neatly and leave it on the backrest of the couch before he gave Leslie a thankful look and left the apartment.

“You can take the sleeping mask off.. He is gone.”, Leslie assured and watched Ed uncovering his eyes.  
He needed a moment to get used to the light and looked at the woman next to him.  
“Are you alright?”, she smiled.  
“I love him so much..”, Ed said and was close to tears.  
“I saw that! And he knows it and he loves you. Nothing will get between you two and you will win against this fear because you are smart.”  
“I’m not smart, I am brilliant.”  
“Then use your brilliant mind to make the manipulated part shut up.”, she said and ruffled his hair with a sweet smile.  
“Oh gosh. Oh dear, what have you done…” Ed jumped up and rushed into the bathroom to fix the chaos on his head because if not necessary, he preferred his hair in order.  
Leslie shook her head and laughed.  
Yes, she really had a weak point for this guy.  
When Ed came back, he noticed the scarf.  
“Is that yours?”, he asked and she shook her head.  
“Oswald left it here for you.”  
Ed picked it up, buried his nose in the soft fabric and closed his eyes.  
“Smells like him..”, he smiled.

Later that evening, Oswald was in his Club, standing behind the bar, polishing a glass, but not really able to pay attention to what was happening around him.  
Being with Ed was so good but after he accidentally said something out loud and caused his friend so much pain, his heart felt heavy in his chest.  
He knew he would probably never get his friend back the way he once was.  
But he would get him back somehow, even if it would take forever…

“Must be a hard job being a nightclub owner.”

Oswald looked up, still polishing the glass, and looked at the stranger who was sitting at the bar for a while now.

“What?”, he asked, suddenly being back to reality and very present.

“You are the owner, aren’t you? You look tired, man. Or is it a girl that keeps you from sleeping? It’s always a girl, isn’t it?”, the stranger winked with a slimy smile.

“It is a tough business.”, Oswald replied, finally sorting the glass back to the other clean ones.  
“And no. No girl.”, he faked the friendliest smile he could manage and asked: “In the mood for a drink, Sir? First one for new guests is free today, lucky you!”, his smile became wider.  
“Sure. Who says no to free drinks?”, the man laughed.  
“I would like to offer you a special brand of wine, served exclusively at Oswald’s, I..”, Oswald bowed down to look for a bottle and then straightened himself up again, clearing his throat. “I just emptied the last bottle; I’ll go get a new one.”

The moment Oswald turned around, his smile vanished and his expression froze. On the way to the storage room, he gave Butch, who was sitting at a table watching the guests, a sign to follow him.

“What is it, Boss?”, Butch asked when they were behind closed doors and safe from open ears.  
“Listen, “, he still spoke in a low voice, “There is a man sitting at the bar. I want you to send someone after him as soon as he leaves the club. Find out everything. His name, where he lives and who his friends are. This has priority.”  
The tall man nodded without asking questions. He was trained to do whatever Oswald wanted.  
“Don’t come back with me, wait a moment.”, Oswald ordered and took a random bottle of wine with him.  
He walked back to the bar and served the man his promised drink, which he accepted with a nod.  
Oswald took his mobile phone and typed a message to Ed.

-I have one of them. Don’t tell anyone.-

He noticed from the corner of his eye, that the man was still watching him and looked up.  
“Just my sweetheart.”, he explained without being asked and smiled innocently.

 

 

***

 


	24. I see you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I am so so sorry that it took me so long to continue... I got frustrated after my last update and now that I am motivated again (thanks to all of you who recently encouraged me to go on, I love you so much!!), I am super busy with other stuff but I will try to keep up with this story as good as I can =)
> 
> I hope you enjoy the next chapter~~~xxx

 

 

 

*** 24 ***

 

 

 

Ed was already lying in bed when the message came.  
He was sleepless anyway, reading Oswald’s text messages over and over and, however, being finally able to look at their selfie without feeling weird except a good weird containing rising heartbeat and butterflies in his stomach.  
Even without any context, he immediately understood what Oswald was talking about.  
One of the guys who did this to him.  
His hands were shaking when he typed back: -How?-

The answer came fast.

-Later. Don’t worry about it now, love. Be assured he will get what he deserves and you won’t miss the fun. Sweet dreams. x-

Ed sighed.

-You too. (I’m hugging my pillow. Try to pretend it’s you. Doesn’t work..)-

Oswald smiled when he got the last text message.   
Though he had the chance to slit that guy’s throat right now, he preferred to be bathing in the assurance to be one step ahead.  
That foolish bastard thought he was safe, walking around in his club, looking at what his actions did to him…  
But he would never, ever forget that voice. He had recognized it right away.  
Now he had the chance to plan the revenge, making it as painful and unexpected as possible.

With being completely able to trust Butch, he took the paper and a pen he brought to work and made himself comfortable at the table where Ed was sitting the first night he came into the club.  
He closed his eyes for a moment and remembered the moment he saw him step in, all stiff and awkward, wearing this beautiful green-shaded suit.  
He was so nervous but determined to reach whatever his goal was at that point.  
But most important, he was just there. He stayed to the end and shared the failure of the opening night with him like a friend would have done and that is what he became; a friend and even more.  
And maybe it was just that what he was looking for.  
Maybe he hadn’t had anything specific in mind for paying back the ignorance of everyone around him.  
He was there because Oswald had noticed him and he wanted more of that.  
Someone who listened, someone who saw him.

Oswald opened his eyes and whispered to himself: “I see you..”

With a little smile on his lips, he started writing down the story of him and Edward Nygma, as promised.

The next morning, when Ed entered his office, he found a letter on his desk, together with a tape, and he didn’t even need to open it to know who had left it here.  
He picked it up carefully with both hands and hesitated whether to open it now or later.  
Should he read it here or when he was at home…  
The two detectives, now entering the room, answered the question for now so Ed hid the envelope in his coat and tried to not think about the fact that he was carrying his very own love story with him now and forced himself to focus on work.

When the working day was done, Ed was still in his office, sitting on his little couch, going through the pages full with Oswald’s pretty handwriting.  
He couldn’t wait until he was home and decided to read the letter right here and now he couldn’t stop reading it over and over.  
The most beautiful part about this was that the story was told from Oswald’s point of view.  
How he had experienced everything that happened between them and every word was so full of love, it made his eyes tearing up.

Beside the fact that the content of the the letter warmed him from inside, leaving every inch of his body in need to feel the presence of Oswald now, it actually helped sorting the chaos in his head.  
Parts of it were things he actually remembered but wasn’t sure were to put them, until now.  
Things he thought he was dreaming suddenly became reality.

Ed took a deep breath and picked up the tape he had left on the table so far, circling it in his hands nervously until he finally decided to give it a try.  
With shaky hands, he put it into the tape-recorder and pushed the play-button, lowering the volume, just in case..  
To his surprise, it wasn’t Oswald’s voice he heard at first, it was a piano tune. A little sloppily but soulfully played and Ed suddenly remembered the moment he walked into the empty club, hearing exactly this music and seeing Oswald sitting at the piano playing it, his eyes closed.  
Through Ed’s eyes, he looked so beautiful in the dim lights of the stage..  
He did in every light.  
Ed sighed as he heard the music fading, turning into silence eventually and he winced as it was replaced by the silky voice of his boyfriend.

-I would never harm you…ever.- Oswald said and Ed heard him take a shaky breath. –I love you. I love you so much, Ed.. Please come back to me…”, the last sentence was more a whine and Ed’s heart broke a little.  
Though he felt a mild panic rushing through his body, it didn’t turn out as bad as his previous seizures and he remembered what Lee said about certain circumstances.  
The way Oswald spoke on the tape was quiet and soft and with a sudden idea in his mind, Ed jumped up and rushed out of his office.

Since Oswald had mentioned the night they spent at his home in his letter, he decided to drive there right away.  
Maybe it would be good for recovering and stabilizing his memories to discover one of the places they spent the most intimate time together.  
Ed assumed Oswald would be at work now, so he would have enough time to look around.

About an hour later, Ed arrived at the house where Oswald lived with his mother.  
He got lost twice while trying to find the right address, but this was finally the house he was looking for. He remembered it very well, now that he was standing in front of it.  
He rang the doorbell twice and waited patiently, as finally a voice came through the speaker.

“Hu’s dere? Oswald?”

Ed cleared his throat.  
“Mrs. Cobblepot? It’s..Ed..uhm.. Edward ..Nygma. We met once when..”  
The door buzzed open and Ed considered finishing his sentence but then he just entered the house.  
He was a bit nervous about meeting his boyfriend’s mother again for the first time, but when he reached the right floor, he already saw the flamboyant woman waiting at the door, with a wide smile on her face.  
“Ohhh Edward, dear.”, she greeted him, tugging at his sleeve to drag him inside and touched his face like she couldn’t believe it was really him, her face gleaming with pleasure.

“Is it really you?”, she asked and Ed smiled sweetly at her and nodded.  
“Yes. I’m back. Well..kind of.”  
“Oswald told me everything, come in, come in, sit down.”, she commanded and guided him to the couch.  
“He was so worried, my poor darling but now you’re here. Wait there, I get you something tu drink while you wait.”, Gertrude chirped and almost danced out of the room, leaving Ed alone.  
He exhaled and looked around curiously.  
Ed remembered the interior and the scent of the room, a mixture of flourish fragrances and old furniture.   
He picked up a frame from the table next to him and smiled at the picture of Oswald at a young age, all neat and with an angel-face.  
Gertrude came back with a mug and by the smell, Ed figured out it was hot chocolate.

“Here, drink, dear.”, she said and Ed took the mug with a smile.

“Thank you, Mrs..”  
“Gertrude!”, Oswald’s mother interrupted.  
“Thank you, Gertrude.”, Ed corrected himself and breathed in the hot steam before he took a sip.  
He remembered the taste from the first time he was here; from the chocolate itself, later from Oswald’s lips.

“Oswald works late today, he is always so busy.”, Gertrude excused the absence of her son with pity swimming in her voice.  
“That’s fine. I.. hope it is not inappropriate somehow to ask if I could wait here until he returns. I am experiencing a special kind of amnesia and thought it could be helpful if I spend some time in his room.”, Ed explained and Gertrude’s expression turned even more concerned.  
“Of course, of course, I understand. You are so good for Oswald, he never had a friend, you know?”, she said and Ed’s smile turned sad.  
“Me neither. I will take good care of your son, I promise.”, Ed assured and stood up, taking the mug with him, and looked around to find the right door.  
“I’m sure you will.”, Gertrude said and guided Ed into the right direction.  
“Thank you.”, Ed smiled and entered the room.

With Oswald’s room, the whole atmosphere changed. Ed looked around and remembered being here before.  
A little smile hushed over his lips as he walked slowly to the bed and sat down at the edge, holding his mug with both hands, staring thoughtfully at a random point.  
He finished his chocolate without haste and hoped for Oswald to come home soon.

About an hour later, Oswald still wasn’t home and Ed let out a frustrated sigh, kicked his shoes off, put on the sleep mask he brought with him to keep himself from looking at his boyfriend and snuggled under the sheets.  
Everything around him smelled like Oswald and with the wonderful feeling of being home, he slowly dozed off.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 


	25. Eyes on me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotham monday everybody!!! =DDD I'm sure you guys gonna hate me for this chap but..... enjoy reading =D

 

 

 

*** 25 ***

 

 

 

When Oswald came home late at night, the apartment was silent and dark so he tried his best to make no noise.  
Tired and not in the mood for a conversation with his mother, he tip-toed to his room as quietly as possible with a limp and switched the light on.  
He immediately stripped down to his underwear and looked around for his pajamas, when he noticed that there was something very wrong with his blankets.  
Or very right, he thought with a smile on his lips, when he recognized the familiar, brown hair of his boyfriend sticking out on top of the chaos.  
Oswald hobbled to the bed with heartbeat and found a posted next to the pillow.  
He picked it up and read: ‘Wake me up. Whisper! =)’

Oswald frowned at Ed, unsure if that was a good idea but anyway, Ed wasn’t stupid and probably fully aware of his request, since he was still wearing the sleep mask he used before to cover his eyes.  
He carefully let himself sink down on the soft mattress and ran his fingers through Ed’s tousled hair.  
“Hey..” he whispered softly and wasn’t able to fight back a smile when Ed huffed back quietly with protest.  
He looked at his friend and felt like the whole room has changed just because Ed was in it.  
Since he could remember, Oswald had always felt safe here, but also lonely. Now there was this precious human being, sleeping in his bed and just waiting for him to come home.  
“Wake up, beautiful..” he purred and Ed started shifting under the sheets.  
“Oswald..” Ed mumbled and reached out sloppily into his direction.  
“I’m here.” Oswald whispered and crawled into the long, slender arms of his boyfriend, snuggling against his warm body.  
Ed wrapped his arms around the tiny figure and buried his nose in Oswald’s soft hair, breathing in his scent.  
“There you are, my very real boyfriend..” he whispered and the choice of words made Oswald chuckle.  
“It works, I knew it.” Ed added sleepily.  
“I can talk to you..” Oswald pointed out, careful to keep his voice at the lowest all the time and tightened his embrace.  
“I can hear you..” Ed said, sounding more awake and playful now.  
The next moment and without asking, their lips found each other and melted together like it was just meant to be like this and nothing else.  
Ed sighed softly into the kiss and his curious hands started exploring Oswald’s body.  
The smaller man winced and pulled back out of a sudden.

“What’s wrong?” Ed asked, slightly confused and Oswald shook his head as if Ed could see it.  
“I.. It is just… The last time we were so close, we were both drunk.. We decided not to rush things.. I guess.. I am just not used to being touched like this..all gentle and with no intention to hurt me..” Oswald stuttered and right now he wanted nothing more than being able to look into Ed’s eyes.. Searching for assurance that he still looked at him the same way he did before they took him away.

“You don’t like when I touch you?” Ed asked and couldn’t hide the little disappointment that was coming with the words as he said them out loud.  
“No.. no no no, not like that. Nothing like that.” Oswald paused and tried to find the right words, “Look..” he started but Ed interrupted.  
“Got it. Slow it is, then.” he said with a cute smirk and vanished under the sheets.  
“Wha….” Oswald wanted to protest, eyes wide open, but just too soon he got caught in the sensation of Ed’s soft lips, slowly making acquaintance with every inch of his body.  
He closed his eyes and felt his muscles relaxing, though his heart acted like it would explode any moment.  
“This is just for science.” he heard Ed’s dull voice coming through the thick fabric, “I have to remember everything that has to do with you.”  
“I..don’t think you ever did something like this before..” Oswald mentioned, his voice shaky and a soft moan escaped from his lips as Ed started teasing his belly-button with the tip of his tongue.  
Eyes squeezed shut, fingers clinging into the blanket, he tried to stay quiet but it was just too impossible with Ed doing such nice things down there. 

Soft lips, hot breath and gentle fingers seemed to be everywhere, sending chills through Oswald’s trembling body like he never experienced before.  
“Ed..” he whined, trying to keep his voice under control because every loud noise could trigger a seizure and the last thing he wanted to do was causing his lover pain.

Ed’s head popped up from under the sheets and he continued placing sweet kisses all over Oswald’s neck while whispering: “I want you… Like the first night we shared..”  
“I want you too..” Oswald whispered back, his fingertips fondling with Ed’s hair, “But not like this.. Not when I am not able to see your face..”, he added and Ed could hear that his friend was upset about the situation.  
He felt so comfortable right now, covered with soft sheets, surrounded by the warmth and scent of his boyfriend that any thought of fear seemed far, far away.  
“You’re right. I want to see your face. Also I probably look like an idiot, wearing this.” Ed mumbled and started fumbling at his sleep mask.

“Wait.. what are you doing? Ed, no, it is too soon!” Oswald tried to keep his friend from removing the mask but if you can do nothing but whisper, it is hard to sound convincing.  
The mask was gone within seconds and both men stared at each other; Oswald with fear and Ed with excitement.  
At least that was his first expression.  
“Ed?” Oswald whispered as he slowly watched his friends features becoming tense, his eyes seemed empty for a moment, then slowly filled with hatred.  
“Don’t look at me like that..” Oswald pleaded, feeling tears burning in his eyes.  
“Ed? Do you hear me?”

Without answering, Ed grabbed his throat with both hands and started squeezing while staring down at him, his face like a stone-cold mask.  
Oswald choked and tried to say something, tried to remove Ed’s hands with pulling at his wrists, but he was too strong.  
“Ed. It’s me.. Oswald! ...IT’S ME!!” he coughed in panic, no longer able to control the volume of his voice which caused Ed to press harder.

Oswald dug his fingernails into Ed’s skin, feeling tears running down his cheeks.  
“Love..”  
It was nothing more but a silent whimper and the last thing Oswald managed to say before he passed out.

The broken eye-contact brought Ed back from his trip and he slowly realized what he was doing.  
He gasped and backed off, looking at his shaking hands in a state of shock and then back to his friend.  
“Oswald?...No… no no no..” he whispered and checked his pulse.  
“Oh dear..” he said, breathing heavily, and felt waves of relief rushing through his body as he realized that Oswald was just unconscious.  
He carefully took his face in both hands like a fragile treasure and started kissing the tears away while he constantly mumbled: “I’m so sorry.. please come back. I’m sorry.. I’m so..”  
Ed burst out crying and buried his face in the crook of Oswald’s neck.  
What did he do? He almost killed the only person in his life who truly loved him. The only one he loved more than anything…

He felt Oswald recovering consciousness and closed his eyes.

“Wha..uh..”

“Shhh..shh.. It’s okay.. you’re okay. I almost killed you accidentally but you’re okay now. I’m so sorry.. I’m so..please forgive me..” Ed sobbed and felt Oswald’s hands in his hair.  
“That..” Oswald started and coughed. “That wasn’t you… not your fault..” he whispered hoarsely, stroking through Ed’s hair with shaky hands.  
It calmed Ed down and after a moment of silence he said dryly: “It’s your eyes.. Nothing else..”  
“Then I better keep them shut.” Oswald whispered and Ed carefully looked at him.  
He was so beautiful, his little birdy, Ed thought and his heart broke as he noticed the red bruises, slowly starting to stick out from the pale skin at his throat.  
“I’m so sorry..”, Ed whispered and breathed a kiss on the tip of Oswald’s nose. “I love you so much..”  
“I don’t blame you, I blame them.” Oswald replied quietly, “And I love you too, nothing will ever change that.”  
“I shouldn’t have come here. I better go. I can’t risk to hurt you again.” Ed decided and was about to crawl out of bed but Oswald hold him back.  
“Don’t. Don’t leave me now. I need you here, okay? Don’t leave me alone with this! I got it. No eyes. No loud voice and we’re safe, right?”  
Ed was chewing on his lower lip, thinking it through for a moment and finally nodded.  
“Alright. I stay. No experiments anymore, I promise.” he said and Oswald sighed with relief.  
He felt weak and vulnerable and all he needed now was the love of his boyfriend to keep him together.  
They switched off the lights and snuggled against each other under the blanket.  
“I didn’t want to hurt you..” Ed whispered with a broken voice, “ I just freaked out… I can’t even remember until you passed out and I thought that I… I..”  
“Shhh.. You didn’t, okay? Get that out of your head, silly.” Oswald whispered and tried to kiss away Ed’s worries.  
Ed slowly relaxed and lost himself in the gentle touch and comforting embrace.  
After a while their kissing mode turned from intense and emotional to sweet and lazy, until their faces just kept resting next to each other, noses touching, and both drifted off to sleep.

When Oswald woke up the next morning, he was alone.  
He missed the presence of a warm, familiar body next to his and hoped Ed just needed to go to the bathroom, but when he found the posted next to the pillow, he knew that his friend had left.  
At least Ed never left without a note and Oswald reached out to get the green piece of paper.  
At least something that will make him smile, like Ed’s notes always did.

But not this time.

 

 

***

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to mention that I didn't write this scene because of the events with Miss Kringle. It was planned to happen like this from the beginning and I didn't want to rewrite it because of the "Kringle-accident"! If this brought back painful memories for anyone, I am sorry!! ='( ....Here no one is hurt (at least not that much) and everyone is alive! =D


	26. Scarred

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your motivating comments!! I means a lot!! Enjoy your weekend =) <3

 

 

 

*** 26 ***

 

 

 

 

 

Oswald was standing in front of the mirror in his bathroom and looked at his own reflection.  
Red bruises covered his neck and made him remember the moment when Ed was looking at him with so much hate, that he wanted to cry.  
He knew it was not Ed. It wasn’t how he would look at him, what he felt for him, but the memory had left his heart in pain.  
Oswald wanted to smash the mirror into thousand little pieces with his bare hands, but he was just standing there, staring and trying not to burst out into tears.

_My dear Oswald,_   
_There is no excuse for what I did to you last night._   
_I thought I was getting better but obviously, I was wrong._   
_I won’t risk hurting you ever again so I will stay away from you._   
_As long as necessary._   
_I’m not giving up._   
_You’re the love of my life but if I am a threat to your well-being,_   
_I will just..stay away._

_Ed._

Ed’s words, written on this small piece of paper, rushed through Oswald’s head over and over and he dashed away a single tear.  
He didn’t want Ed out of his life, even if it was just temporary.  
But what if not? What if he would never be okay again? He would rather leave him alone than try to handle a damaged relationship..  
And he was honest to himself, how could a relationship be more fucked up than what they had now?

“You will pay for this.”, he spitted against the mirror and snorted with anger.   
He would find every single person that meant something to the kidnappers and destroy them.   
And then he would wait. Long enough for them to suffer, to feel the pain a hundred times harder than he did and then he would smash them like bugs. One by one.

 

It was early afternoon, Ed was sitting at his desk and working through files, trying to forget about the terrible thing he did to his boyfriend last night.  
He couldn’t get the picture of Oswald Cobblepot’s lifeless body out of his head.  
The short moment of terror when he thought he had killed him.  
He looked at his own hands.  
The desperate try to keep Ed from strangling him was visible through all the tiny red marks his fingernails had left on his skin.  
Some would vanish, he knew, but some would remain as scars to remind him forever what he almost did.

“What happened to your hands?”

A familiar, female voice jolted him out of his dark thoughts and he looked up.  
“Oswald..”, he said with a thin voice and Lee cocked her head, furling her eyebrows.  
“Oh my god, did he ..hurt you? What happened?”, she asked and pulled a chair beside him to sit down.  
“He was trying to defend himself.”, Ed said bitterly and pressed his lips together. “I almost killed him.”  
Before Lee could say anything, he kept talking.  
“I thought I was able to look at him. I felt so good and safe and everything and I removed the sleep mask and the moment I looked into his eyes, I lost it. I am so stupid. I should have waited until our next appointment but I wanted to see him. I got an idea and I needed to find out if he can talk to me when he whispers and it worked and now I also know I can look at him when his eyes are closed but that doesn’t change that I almost strangled him to death and I just left him this morning with a note that I won’t see him anymore and..”  
Leslie put a hand on Ed’s wrist to stop the firework of words coming out if his mouth in a speed she couldn’t follow anymore and said: “It wasn’t your fault.”  
“It was ME.”, Ed replied angrily and his eyes started to tear up.  
“I won’t put him into danger again. You have to help me. I will do anything you suggested, I can’t lose him.”, Ed said and Leslie nodded.  
“I go get the addresses from the specialists I collected. Don’t worry Ed, we will fix you.”  
Ed let out a humorless laughter and watched her leave.

He took off his glasses, leaned back exhaustedly and closed his eyes.  
This morning, he has watched Oswald for a long time, trying to burn this picture into his mind before he finally decided to leave.  
He looked so peaceful and once more Ed had realized how much he loved this little man.

A nervous knock at the doorframe made him open his eyes again and he turned his head into the direction the sound came from.  
There he was.  
The little man Ed Nygma loved more than anything, standing awkwardly in the doorframe.  
He was so well dressed in his beautiful coat, a red scarf wrapped around his neck and, -not necessary in the dim light of the GCPD building- wearing fancy sunglasses.

“Hello-“, Oswald greeted with a low voice and chuckled, pointing at the sunglasses. “Problem solved!”  
He smiled as if he had just invented the wheel and Ed couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Wish it would be that easy..”, he replied and stood up. “I told you, I..”  
Oswald raised his hand to make him shut up and stepped forward.  
“Don’t say it. I came here to give you something. Also you had the chance to say good bye and I hadn’t.”  
“I’m sorry..”, Ed mumbled and looked down, studying his feet with guilt rising up in his stomach.  
Oswald placed something on the desk and Ed eyed the envelope curiously.

“It’s a video-tape.”, Oswald started to explain.  
“It’s me, talking, with sunglasses on, later without, also with various voice-volumes. I thought it might be helpful.”  
Ed’s face brightened up a little and he tugged at Oswald’s sleeves, pulling him closer.  
“Thank you.”, he whispered and buried his nose in Oswald’s hair.  
“We…stay in touch right? I mean.. You are going to text me, aren’t you?”, Oswald whispered and his voice broke.  
“Of course..”, Ed promised and pressed his lips on Oswald’s forehead.   
Oswald raised himself on tip-toes, wrapped his arms around his friend’s neck and gave him one last, desperate kiss.  
“Love you..”, he whispered against his lips, before he forced himself to let go and limped out of the room in a hurry.  
He only made it to the stairs, though.  
Two arms clenched around him stiffly, holding him tight and he relaxed into the embrace.  
“Love you too..”, Ed whispered into his hair and sealed his words with a kiss on the back of his head.  
He didn’t care that nearly everyone in the GCPD had stopped with whatever they were doing and started staring at them.  
He loved Oswald Cobblepot and he didn’t care about anyone else or anyone’s opinion.  
Oswald turned around in Ed’s arms and hugged him tightly.  
It was hard to let go, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to be close to him like this for who knew how long.  
He could feel all the stranger’s eyes on them and felt the need to make sure everyone knew that Ed was his.  
What difference would it make anyway?  
He grabbed his friend’s collar, pulled him down and moved his lips against his possessively.   
Ed gasped and the next moment he felt Oswald’s tongue in his mouth, teasing his own playfully.

_Everyone is watching_ , Ed thought and suddenly a bunch of butterflies awoke in his stomach, making him join the action eagerly.  
After a felt eternity, Oswald pulled back and cleared his throat. He straightened himself, turned around and stomped away without a word, leaving a breathless Ed with flushed cheeks behind, who stared after him until he was out of sight.  
Ed awkwardly fumbled at his glasses and sent a nervous smile into the crowd, nodded and turned around to flee into his office.  
The moment he shut the door behind him, a wide smile appeared on his lips and his body was slowly filling up with pride.  
No matter what people thought, they would never pity him again for not being able to make friends or find someone to date.  
They won’t make fun of him ever again because he was the one who scored with Oswald Cobblepot.  
Their relationship might be scarred forever, but he was not willing to lose what fate had brought him.  
He would fight for this, no matter how long it would take.

 

In front of the building, Butch was waiting for his boss in the car.  
Oswald jumped into the seat next to him and took a deep breath.  
“Everything okay, Boss?”, he asked and Oswald nodded.  
He felt much lighter now, less dumped than in the morning and with hope that things would change for the better.  
Now he had time to plan his revenge and also keep working on his plan to take over Gotham.  
If he would become King of Gotham, no one would be able to touch him or Ed ever again.  
He would make this town a better place for him and his family.

“Much work ahead, Butch. Time to take down the mobsters.”  
“Everything alright with your..uh…”  
“The word you are looking for is boyfriend. You can say it, Butch. And it could be better, but we are working on it. He needs time to recover which gives me the time to take over Gotham.”  
“Understood. Who’s first?”, Butch asked and started the motor.  
“I’d say we start with the most stupid.”, Oswald said and his lips twisted into a confident smile.

 

***

 


	27. We are what we are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright everyone!! Gotham Monday without Gotham ..BUT with the final Chapter of this story. It might come as a surprise but this story already became much longer than planned but now it ends as planned and this chapter has almost the size of three chapters but I didn't want to split it. Short note on what Oswald is doing in the background is pretty much what he is doing in the end of season one so I didn't go into detail on that. Also I might have mixed up timelines. Anyway! I hope you enjoy =DD

 

 

 

*** Last Chapter ***

 

 

“That. Was beyond stupid.”, Gordon said and looked at Ed, arms crossed in front of his chest.  
“I thought it was hilarious.”, Harvey added, still laughing and wiped away a tear.  
“Not funny. You can’t just work here and be officially together with a criminal like Cobblepot.”  
“If he’s a criminal, why is he walking free?”, Ed asked in return an Jim rolled his eyes.  
“Kid’s got a point there.”, Harvey said. “This is Gotham, there is no black or white. And as long as Nygma hasn’t done anything wrong, he can be with whomever he likes. You haven’t done anything wrong, have you?”, he asked and eyed Ed warily.  
“Who, me? No. Never.”, Ed assured and put on the most innocent expression he was able to manage. No one needed to know that he stabbed a man in some alley because he thought that dude had hurt Oswald.  
Or that he had filled out a false report, leading another dead body away from his boyfriend. Or that he gave Oswald access to the files room…  
“Nope.”, he smiled.

“And since when are you team “odd-couple”?”, Jim looked at Harvey but the man just shrugged.  
Ed’s smile froze and his expression turned dark.  
“Detective Gordon, I don’t like our relationship to be considered _odd_. Please don’t say such things. Oswald is handsome, attentive, caring, clever, his manners are exceptional and our love is genuine so please don’t say ugly things about our relationship.”  
Jim raised his hands and took a step back.  
“Sure he is.”, he said and faked a smile.  
“I also understand sarcasm.”, Ed added dryly and Harvey snorted. “Someone’s got balls.”, he said and patted Ed’s back.  
“If you want me to leave the GCPD because of whom I am with, then do so. Throw me out.”, Ed said and though he didn’t want this to happen, he tried to appear strong and determined.

“What’s going on here?”  
Leslie stepped in, carrying a folder with collected information about trauma therapists in both arms.  
“Detective Gordon disapproves of my relationship with Oswald.”, Ed said plainly.  
“I don’t think that it is Detective Gordon’s decision to make..”, she said reproachfully, while glancing at her boyfriend. “We already talked about this.”, she hissed.  
“Yeah I know we did but that was before..”, Jim whispered back but Lee interrupted. “Enough. Leave them alone!”  
Jim gave up.  
There was no way to win against his better half in this conflict, not when she already chose her alliance.  
“Alright, fine!”, he whispered back as loudly as he could though it was ridiculous to whisper anyway because everyone in the room could hear them.  
“Now apologize.”  
“What?”  
“Just do it!”  
Leslie had already lost her strict intonation and encouraged Jim with a little smile and nudged his shoulder.  
He sighed, turned to Ed and cleared his throat.  
“I’m sorry for calling you two odd. If Penguin makes you happy, then for god’s sake be happy. Try not to get into his trouble, alright?” This time his smile was honest.

“Thank you.”, Ed said, his voice softer now.

“Question.”, Harvey raised his arm, “Does he brush his teeth?”

“Oh god..”, Lee sighed and just hoped that this would be over soon.

“I don’t understand why this is any of your concern, Detective Bullock, but I can assure you that Oswald is a very clean person. His skin smells like honey and he tastes like heaven, anything else you would like to know?”, Ed smiled innocently and this time it was Lee who swallowed back a chuckle.

“Nope.”, Harvey said and decided that it was time to leave and do something to get that new information out of his head as fast as possible.

And that was that.  
Jim knew that it was impossible to talk Ed out of this relationship; he was a grown man and able to handle his life on his own.  
And if he would decide to get involved with whatever shit Cobblepot was doing, that was up to him as well and he would have to deal with the consequences in one way or another.  
But the hardest consequence for Edward Nygma was that his bond with Oswald Cobblepot already caused him the trouble that made this early October day the last day he saw his friend for a long time.

It wasn’t an easy time for Edward Nygma, but it also gave him the time he needed to find the right therapist and treatment to get well as soon as possible.  
Oswald wasn’t completely out of his life. As promised, they kept exchanging messages now and then.

 

**_New Message_ **

 

October 17th -16:48 – Oswald

_How’s the therapy going? Miss you.. O._

October 17th – 17:02 – Ed

_The hypnosis sessions still feel weird but I feel like making progress. Hope you are alright. Miss you, too.. x_

 

 ** _New Message_**  
  
  
  
October 29th – 21:37 – Ed

_Hey... You are probably very busy.. Just wanted to let you know that I am moving. I found myself a great place. Beautiful view over the city. Can’t wait to show you. Ed._

November 1st – 0:49 – Oswald

_Sounds great. Does it have a balcony?_

November 1st – 0:51 – Ed 

_Yes. You can watch the sunset from there._

November 1st – 0:53 – Oswald

_Still a hopeless romantic… Can’t wait to meet you there, love. Good night._

November 1st – 0:55 – Ed

_Sleep tight._

 

**_New Message_ **

 

November 12th – 11:46 – Oswald

_Today is the day, my dear friend. Today is the day. Ily_

November 12th – 15:49 – Ed

_On my way to my last session. Finally going to meet you soon! What day is today? Ly2. X_

 

**_November12th – 16:02 – Missed Call - Oswald_ **

**_November12th – 16:07 – Missed Call - Oswald_ **

**_November12th – 16:16 – Missed Call - Oswald_ **

**_November12th – 16:22 – Missed Call - Oswald_ **

**_November 12th – 16:38 – Missed Call - Oswald_ **

 

Ed was on his way back to the GCPD and in a seldom good mood.  
That was because he was officially ready to meet Oswald. Finally.  
The therapy he went through for the past weeks was kind of a reverse manipulation of his brain.  
All the bad influence was replaced with good and real memories and the hypnosis also helped to recover and internalize all of his memories.  
The hardest thing was to get the fear out of his subconscious mind, that was triggered by looking at Oswald’s eyes but the video-tape helped fighting that.  
Last night, he spent hours with looking at a screenshot that he had printed out and felt nothing but love and longing for his partner.  
Tonight he would surprise him with a wonderful candlelight dinner in his new apartment and he was already thrilled to start with the cooking, because he loved to cook.  
Ed turned his mobile phone on, which he had switched off for the time of the session and frowned at all the missed calls.

What was so important that Oswald needed to talk to him so eagerly out of a sudden?  
His messages became rare lately, but Ed had assumed his friend must have been very busy and the lack of contact gave him enough space to sort his life and focus on his recovery, so he didn’t mind much.  
Maybe because Oswald was happy about the information that Ed was done with his therapy? Yes. That must be the reason, Ed thought, and smiled to himself while he pressed the call-button and waited for his friend to pick up with heartbeat.

_The person you are calling is not available at present_

Ed huffed silently and walked faster. He didn’t have to work for the rest of the day but he had promised to report to Doctor Thompkins how his therapy turned out in the end.  
Then he had to go grocery shopping and hopefully managed to reach his dearest. 

When he entered the GCPD building, he found the great hall, which was usually full with busy people, almost deserted.  
Just a few officers, not even a handful, were sitting at their desks and busy with phone calls.  
“What the heck?”, he mumbled to himself and walked around slowly.  
He spotted a familiar, female figure at the end of the hall and darted into that direction.  
“Miss Kringle?”, he called after her and the young woman turned around.  
“Mister Nygma? What are you doing here?”, she asked obviously confused and not as confident as usual.  
“Uhm.. I work here? Where is everyone?”  
“Emergency call.. Some gang war as far as I know. Everyone was freaking out!”, she explained, her voice a little shaky because of the unfamiliar situation.

Ed’s face turned pale. “Is Doctor Thompkins still here? Or anyone who might know more?”  
“I don’t know..everything happened so fast.. Detective Bullock was still here about an hour ago..or two? I really don’t..”  
Ed didn’t wait for her to finish the sentence and rushed into his office.  
He picked up his phone with shaky hands and dialed the number of Leslie Thompkins.  
She picked up immediately.  
“Ed?”, she asked, sounding nervous.  
“Doctor Thompkins! I just arrived at the GCPD. What is going on? What gang war?”, he asked slightly panicking and assuming she knew because Jim Gordon was her boyfriend.  
“Falcone and Maroni..”, she just said quietly, as if she tried to hide her conversation from curious ears and Ed felt his stomach twist.  
“That means…”, he started and suddenly realized what Oswald’s text message was about. “Oswald is involved..”, he finished the sentence silently and dropped on the couch.  
“I’m sorry, Ed.”, she whispered, “I’m afraid we can’t do anything but wait and hope..”

Ed looked around helplessly, trying to figure out what to do now, as his eyes met an unfamiliar object on the desk. He stood up, locked the phone between ear and shoulder and picked it up.  
It was a thick envelope, the kind Oswald always used, with a posted attached to it.

_In case of my decease, open it. Otherwise, wait for my return. O._

Ed read the words, written in Oswald’s beautiful handwriting, a few times and blinked away a tear.

“Ed? Are you still there?”, Leslie asked and Ed sniffed.  
“I am.” ,he said quietly, “I have to find him. Please tell me everything you know.”  
“Ed..It is too dangerous! You are going to get yourself killed!”, Leslie protested but Ed shook his head as if she could see it.  
“My boyfriend is out there. I did everything to get to the point where I can be with him again and I am not going to lose him now. You can tell me what you know or I am going to find out by myself.”

Ed heard the young woman sigh and then she started to tell him all information she had.  
It wasn’t much, but enough to send Ed into a direction.  
“Thank you.”, he said and ended the call, grabbed the envelope and hurried back to his car.

While he was driving, Ed tried to keep his head clear.  
He didn’t want to imagine finding his partner in a pool of his own blood, his tiny body full of bullets…  
Oswald seemed so fragile on the first sight, but Ed knew better.  
He knew his friend was no one to be underestimated.  
He knew whatever was happening there, it was well planned.  
It was weeks ago when Oswald told him about planning something for the first time.  
Maybe it was unwise to rush into a fight he wasn’t supposed to be in, but whatever was expecting him, he felt the need to be there; to be with Oswald, where he belonged.

It was slowly turning dark and all locations Ed got from Lee were nothing but empty battlefields.  
Whatever has happened, the party seemed to have moved elsewhere and Ed had no idea where so he just kept driving until he suddenly noticed a familiar figure, balancing on a wall next to the sidewalk to stay in the shadows.  
Sometimes it was helpful to have his eyes and ears everywhere in the GCPD, he thought, and slowed down the car while opening a window.  
“Helloo? Miss Cat?”, he called and the black figure stopped, remaining motionless.  
“I don’t mean to harm you, I just want to ask you a question!”, Ed tried once again and heard the young girl snort.  
Then she jumped from her position and landed on her feet in front of his window, as if it was no effort at all.  
“Who are you?”, she asked, watching him with bright eyes.  
“Edward..Nygma.. I..”  
“Wait..I know who you are.”, she interrupted and Ed frowned warily.  
“You are Penguin’s bitch!”, her lips twisted into a superior smile. “Wanna know where your lover boy is, huh?”  
It seemed like there were more people with eyes and ears everywhere, not just him, Ed thought, and nodded.  
“You know where he is? Is he alive?” he sounded more desperate than he had planned to.  
“Aw. Sweet. 20 Bucks and a you owe me a favor.”, Selina smiled and reached out her hand, waiting for Ed to fill it with money.

Ed sighed and searched his wallet but only had a 50 dollar bill.  
“Guess you don’t have change?”  
“Nope.”  
Ed handed over the money and Cat pointed into a direction.  
“Try that way until you reach a warehouse by the river. Last time I saw him, he was shooting down everything with a machine gun so chances are given he might be still alive.”  
“You have been there? Can you help me find him?”, Ed asked and Cat cocked an eyebrow.  
“I just did. I’m not crazy. If I wanted to be there, I’d still be there. Good luck, buttercup.”, she said and with that, she vanished into the darkness.

Ed didn’t hesitate for a second and kept driving, this time with double speed and he didn’t stop until he reached the described location.  
He parked his car and jumped out, looking around helplessly.  
In the distance, he heard gunshots. The cold air smelled like war.  
What was he doing here anyway? Unarmed and with zero chance of surviving if he would cross the path of the wrong person..  
Then a scream cut the silence, followed by the sound of splashing water, leading Ed’s attention to the top of a building.  
His eyes widened as he saw a tiny figure, climbing up on the edge of the rooftop on shaky legs.  
He would recognize this man in a crowd of millions of people and even from a distance like this.  
What was he about to do?  
Ed’s heart started beating so fast; he was worried it would explode in his chest.  
He opened his mouth to shout something, as the voice of his boyfriend was breaking the silence.  
He was screaming his lungs out, repeating the words “I am the King of Gotham” over and over, mixed with hysterical laughter and Ed started running.  
He hurried to get to the building and climbed up the ladder to the rooftop as if his life depended on it.  
Gasping for air, he finally reached the top and moved closer to his friend exhaustedly.

“Oswald!”, he called and the other man turned around in a hast, almost losing his balance, looking a little bit like he was drunk.  
“Careful! It’s me!”, Ed announced and reached out a hand.  
Oswald blinked once, twice and then slowly realized who was standing in front of him.  
He was trying to catch his breath and staggered again.  
“Ed?”  
“Stay there! I’m coming to get you!”, Ed said, worrying his friend could fall off the rooftop on accident if he would make just one wrong move.  
“Ed..”, Oswald repeated, watching him coming closer. “I am the King of Gotham..”, he said hoarsely, “I did it. I won.. I am..”  
Ed was now standing right in front of him, looking up; the lights of the city reflecting in his bright eyes.  
Eyes full of love and worry and relief.  
He opened his arms and Oswald hopped into them, arms and legs wrapped around Ed’s skinny body and Ed hold him as tight as possible.  
“I am the King of Gotham..”, Oswald whispered into the crook of Ed’s neck and chuckled like a maniac.  
“I am..”, slowly he felt everything that was bothering him over the last weeks falling off his body.  
His plan didn’t work out exactly like he wanted to, but in the end, he succeeded.  
He killed Fish, Maroni was dead and Falcone.. The old man was history.  
Adrenaline helped him to come this far but now, while he was slowly relaxing into Ed’s embrace, he felt like he would fall into pieces the moment his friend would let go of him.  
“I know you are.. I never had doubts, not even for a second..”, Ed whispered, gently rubbing Oswald’s back.  
Suddenly his silent laughter turned into sobbing.  


“I missed you so much..”, Oswald blubbered out and buried his face deeper into the fabric of Ed’s coat, not able to control his emotions any longer.  
“I missed you, too.”, Ed said in return, trying to fight back tears. “But no one will ever take me away from you again. I am cured. I am no danger for you anymore so from now on we can be together whenever we want, okay?”  
Oswald’s sobbing became louder, his fingers clinging into Ed’s shoulders.  
“Shhh.. I got you, okay? I got you..”, Ed assured, trying to calm his friend somehow.”  
“Hey.. What goes up a chimney down but can’t come down a chimney up?”, Ed asked and Oswald suddenly became quiet.  
“An umbrella?”, he mumbled after a while and Ed smiled. “That’s my King.”  
Oswald hummed and the vibration it caused against Ed’s skin made him smile.  
He was still smiling as the smaller man moved a little bit away from him.  
“Let me look at you..”, he said in a low voice and took Ed’s face between both hands.  


His lover’s eyes were warm and friendly, looking back at him as if he was the most precious thing in the universe.  
There was no fear in them, no hate…  
Oswald’s lips twisted into a smile and the next moment, they were on Ed’s.  
Ed closed his eyes and melted into the kiss. He felt his knees become wobbly, so he moved back to the cornice and made Oswald sit on it without interrupting the kissing.  
Just when he placed his hands on Oswald’s thighs and the other man winced with a painful noise, he noticed that the blood that was soaking through the fabric of his pants was warm.  
“You’re hurt..”, he mumbled and looked at his own hand, smeared with blood, then at Oswald.  
“It’s …it’s nothing. Stupid gorilla over there shot me..”, Oswald explained and Ed followed his glance, now seeing that there was someone lying on the ground.  
“Is he dead?”, Ed asked, noticing it was Oswald’s right hand Butch.  
“I don’t care!”, the new self-proclaimed King spitted, sounding a little bit like a stubborn child, “He betrayed me.”  
“Anyway..we should get you home as fast as possible. You need treatment.”, Ed decided, turned around and lowered himself a little.  
“Jump on my back. I carry you.”  
Oswald did as he was told, glad not to have to climb down the building on his own because it was not only his leg that started to hurt like hell, now that he was aware of the injury, with the adrenaline fading, his whole body started aching and the loss of blood made him feel dizzy.  
He tried to focus on Ed’s words, but they became more and more just a dull sound without meaning.  
He needed to hold on tight, just a little longer. Just a little…  
  
  
  


*** _Aftermath_ ***

 

 

When Oswald woke up, he smelled food.  
He wasn’t ready to open his eyes yet, wherever he was, it was too comfortable.  
Soft blankets kept him warm and the familiar sound of his boyfriend’s voice, humming in the distance, made him feel safe.

“Oswald?”

Did he fell asleep again?  
He blinked and there was Ed, looking down at him with a cute smile on his face.  
“Hello sleepyhead.”, he greeted and Oswald somehow managed to sit up.  
He looked around, trying to find his way back into reality and noticed that he wasn’t wearing his clothes anymore, but a way too big pajama.  
“How long did I sleep?”, he mumbled, scratching his head.  
“The whole day.”, Ed replied and sat down next to him. Oswald leaned against his friend immediately, eyes closed, nudging his neck with the tip of his nose.  
“How are you feeling?”, Ed asked softly, enjoying the act of affection.

“Alive..”, Oswald replied, breathing a kiss on Ed’s soft skin.  
“What smells so good, besides you?”, he asked and Ed smiled.  
“I made dinner. I actually had planned to surprise you after my last session yesterday, but everything turned out a little different than planned.”, he explained and felt Oswald’s lips turn into a smile.  
“Are you hungry?”  
“Hell, yes.”, Oswald said and let out a soft chuckle. He moved away from Ed and looked around curiously.  
“My new place! Do you like it?”, Ed asked with excitement and Oswald nodded. “It’s perfect.”  
And it was. Oswald wasn’t able to realize everything yet, though; the room was just lighted with candles and an arrow shaped neon sign in a corner, but it felt like Ed, like home.

Oswald crawled out of bed and limped to the table, still weak on his legs, but he needed to find out what smelled so deliciously.  
His eyes were wandering over all the perfectly made food on the table.  
The plates were decorated with all kinds of high quality seafood on pasta, with different sauces, making Oswald’s stomach rumble with protest.  
“Hmm.. Fish for dinner, didn’t I have that yesterday?”, he joked but couldn’t stop himself from staring at everything in awe. “Are you trying to convince me into marrying you?”, he asked and Ed was suddenly standing beside him.  
“Do I have to try?”, he asked with a sweet, mocking undertone and Oswald chuckled. “No.”, he said plainly and moved around the table to sit down, leaving the comment like that.  
Ed’s eyes followed his friend, the smile on his lips becoming wider. He said nothing, though and made himself comfortable on the opposite seat.

They enjoyed the dinner mostly in silence. It was a good silence, intimate and peaceful.  
Their eyes found each other often, speaking their own language.  
Ed was an outstanding cook and Oswald couldn’t remember the last time he ate something that good.  
The wine made him feel light and altogether he felt complete.  
When Ed was replacing his empty plate with the dessert, he grabbed his wrist gently, looking up to him.  
“It’s good to have you back, dear friend.”, he said and Ed got lost in his ice-blue eyes for a moment.  
God how much he had missed seeing this beautiful eyes looking at him.  
Ed leaned over to steal a kiss from his precious boyfriend. “I love you..”, he whispered against his lips and felt the other man smile.

Oswald finished his delicious dessert, fresh pear, covered with chocolate pudding and vanilla sauce, and leaned back with a satisfied sigh.  
He looked out of the window, into the clear night sky.  
The view over the city was beautiful indeed and the location was just perfect.

“Hey Ed. You found the envelope I left on your desk?”, he asked nonchalantly and turned his head to his friend.  
“I did. Why do you ask?”, he asked curiously and Oswald smiled mischievously.  
Ed stood up to get the envelope and opened it, finding a remote control and a letter.  
“You want me to read it?”, he asked.  
“Since I am here to tell you myself, no.”, Oswald said and heaved himself on his feet.  
“Show me your balcony, please.”

Ed opened the window that allowed access to the extension that wasn’t exactly a balcony, but as good as.  
“After you.”, Oswald made a polite gesture and waited until Ed was outside, then he followed him, not much bothered by the chilly air.  
“What now?”, Ed asked, not able to hide is excitement any longer.

“While you were away, I took my time to get to know the gentlemen who thought it was a good idea to take you from me a little better. Not personally of course.”, Oswald snorted.  
“So, each of this buttons on that little remote you are holding in your hands leads to..”  
Before Oswald was able to continue his epic and well-studied explanation, Ed had already pushed one of the buttons and in the distance, a building exploded into a huge fireball.

“Wohooo!”, Ed jubilated and made a little jump.  
“…leads to a home of their closest friends and family, all well-prepared with explosives and you just already pulverized one of them, Ed, what are you doing??”, Oswald asked, a little frustrated that he hadn’t been able to explain to the end.  
“Having fun!”, Ed replied, pushing another button without hesitating and a second explosion ripped through the air.  
“Which one is the kidnappers?”, he asked excitedly.  
“None. I thought it would be more fun to take everything they love first, let them suffer and then go after them personally.”, Oswald smiled and beamed with joy while seeing his friend enjoying this so much.  
“Oh. Oh that is perfect.”, Ed said and pushed another button. “Booom!”, he commented and laughed.  
“Oh..you want, too? There’s only one left.”, Ed said and handed over the remote, but Oswald raised a hand.  
“It’s all yours, my dear.”  
“Let’s push the last one together, okay?”  
Oswald let out a soft laughter.  
“As you wish.”

Both wrapped their hands around the remote, placed their thumbs on the last button and started to count.

“One..”

“Two..”

“ _Three!"_

They watched the last building blow up like they were watching fireworks at New Year’s Eve.  
The remote hit the ground and their hands laced together.  
“It’s beautiful… Thank you..”, Ed whispered and Oswald leaned his head against his shoulder, closing his eyes.  
“What happens next? Now that Gotham is yours?”, Ed asked and Oswald lifted his head, looking over the city.  
“Ours, dear. I will make this town a better place for us. It won’t be easy but..”  
“I have faith in you.”, Ed interrupted. “In..us.”  
“We are what we are, right?”  
“Right.”

Sirens started to blare from various places around them, heading to the locations of the explosions.  
A helicopter shot through the air, right above their heads, causing uncomfortable wind, making both men wince for a second, but it wasn’t after them.  
It moved on to get to the scene of event without a clue who could have been behind all that.

Oswald started to chuckle; soon it turned into lunatic laughter and Ed was laughing with him.

 

 

*** The End? *** 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I can't believe I have finished this. In the original storyline (which happened in my head before s2) the final scene was planned to happen at Oswald's club but I changed the location into Ed's new home because I kind of liked the idea to give it a closed cyrcle from their first meeting in season one to kind of where they are now in season 2 =) I hope you are not disappointed with the ending and to all of you who accompanied me along this journey, kept me motivated through comments and kudos, I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! Thank you all for staying until the end <3 :'3
> 
> Also I have another Nygmobblepot story in progress which I can't wait to continue as soon as christmas stress is over so if you like, check it out =)


End file.
